Fantastic microbes and where to find them: evaluating learning-by-doing outcomes in a crowdfunded metagenomics workshop.

Abstract

Metagenomics offers a powerful framework for authentic, interdisciplinary learning, yet it remains underrepresented in undergraduate education due to technical and infrastructural barriers. We hypothesized that a research-based, learning-by-doing metagenomics workshop supported by accessible bioinformatics tools could enhance students' perceived skills, self-efficacy, and conceptual understanding of metagenomic analysis. To test this hypothesis, we designed and evaluated a hybrid hands-on workshop in which undergraduate and postgraduate students analyzed real environmental shotgun metagenomic datasets generated from soil samples collected during a citizen science initiative. Using the graphical workflow platform KBase, participants completed an end-to-end metagenomic analysis, from quality control and assembly to genome reconstruction, taxonomic classification, functional annotation, and scientific presentation of results. Educational outcomes were assessed through validated retrospective pre-post questionnaires, self-efficacy scales, and an open-ended conceptual understanding task. Participants showed significant increases in perceived metagenomic skills and confidence in performing metagenomic analyses, while gains in perceived learning showed a positive trend. Conceptual understanding improved across educational levels, particularly among participants with limited prior experience. Together, these findings demonstrate that authentic, data-driven metagenomics activities can effectively lower barriers to computational biology and foster meaningful learning through hands-on research experiences.