Abstract
This presentation will share the results of a collaborative autoethnographic (CAE) project that was conducted during the implementation of a virtual field camp (VFC) in the summer of 2020. Two education researchers and two geoscientists worked together to build virtual learning environments using Minecraft, Zoom, and geoscience-specific industry software. This presentation will share the "behind-the-scenes" look at how this research team came together and use CAE to help understand why the group dynamic was especially affirming, supportive, and continues to develop. The goal of this project is to uncover what expectations each team member had as we joined the group and how those expectations informed the development of the VFC as well as the working relationship between the geoscientists and education researchers. The data for our analysis comes from group self-interviews that we conducted in Spring 2022. Preliminary results indicate that there were three major aspects of the project that concerned the research team. First, major effort was placed on determining what level of "real-world" applicability the VFC should have and the implications for the students' experience. Second, instructor self-efficacy, in regards to both teaching geoscience content virtually and maintaining an inclusive learning environment, was supported through building trust and sharing resources amongst the research team members. Thirdly, the widespread societal contexts (e.g. COVID) heavily influenced the disposition of the research team members as they implemented the VFC. We hope that by highlighting the personal dynamics that underpin successful collaborations, we can uncover supportive strategies that can strengthen equitable research partnerships throughout the geoscience community.