Campus Ecology: Experimental Field Sites as Tools for Teaching Ecological Principles

该项目的目标是通过编写和分发一本手册，介绍以校园为基础的长期生态研究地点(以学校为基础的长期生态研究地点)，改进6-16个生物学教育。在高中阶段和本科阶段，生态学课程的一个共同特点是缺乏基于实验的实地体验。以学校为基础的LTER站点将允许职前和在职教师积极参与正在进行的短期和长期生态研究。该手册将详细说明如何在学校场地上建立LTER场地，并提供可以在场地上进行的实验的例子。这种方法不同于传统的校园使用，它展示了模仿文献中的那些实验。对于落基山脉西部，提出了长期实验，以解决养分可获得性、增加的水可获得性和放牧对短草草原演替的影响。还将开发与该国其他地区有更大相关性的试验。无论提出什么问题或LTER场地的规模和预算，所有实验都将设计简单、成本低、维护成本低，并将明确与国家标准和基准捆绑在一起(AAAS 1993，NRC 1996)。北科罗拉多大学将该项目视为其作为该地区科学教育领导者的使命的核心，为此已承诺以毕业生津贴、学费和设备美元的形式为该项目的开发和实施提供超过2万美元(详情见预算理由)。该手册将由一个包括PI的团队和一组来自美国不同地理和人口统计地区的特邀在职教师、生物研究人员和科学教育工作者在三个时期内开发。这个项目的PI代表了生态学和生物学教育领域的研究人员的混合，包括理论生态学、种群生态学、动物行为和学生学习方面的经验。此外，他们还拥有20多年的初中和高中教学经验。来自其他团队成员的意见对于项目的成功和确保手册适用于尽可能广泛的受众至关重要。虽然教师、研究人员和科学教育工作者有着共同的兴趣，但现实是，他们的写作水平不同，通过不同的场所与不同的受众进行交流。该小组将每年在研讨会环境中举行一次会议，以开发手册。在第一年，团队将建立示范区，并将开发与每个团队成员所在地区相关的活动。在第二年，团队将再次会面，以完善练习。在第三年，该小组将最后确定并提交该手册的第一版。该手册将通过一家全国性出版商与北科罗拉多大学研究公司协调分发(见传播计划)。此外，研究结果将在专业期刊上发表，并在国家专业会议上公布。作为额外的奖励，校园-LTER网站还将用于加强北卡罗来纳大学目前的生态学和科学方法课程。学生(其中很大一部分是职前教师)将积极参与短期和长期实验。职前教师将接触到一个强大的教学工具，他们可能会融入到他们的课程中。网站还将为对基于教学的研究感兴趣的教职员工和研究生提供机会。北科罗拉多大学处于开展这一项目的有利地位。这所大学在科学教育方面有着悠久的领导传统。生物科学系包括专攻生物学内容和教育学的教员。

The goal of the project is to improve 6-16 biology education through the production and dissemination of a manual describing small scale campus-based long-term ecological research sites (school-based LTER sites). A common feature of ecology curriculum at the high school level and in many instances at the undergraduate level is a lack of an experimentally-based field experience. School-based LTER sites will allow pre-service and in-service teachers to be actively involved in ongoing short- and long-term ecological research. The manual will detail how to establish LTER sites on school grounds and provide examples of experiments that could be conducted at the sites. The approach differs from traditional uses of school yards by presenting experiments patterned after those in the literature. For the Rocky Mountain West, long-term experiments are presented to address the effects of nutrient availability, enhanced water availability and grazing on short grass prairie succession. Experiments that have greater relevance to other regions of the country will also be developed. Regardless of the questions asked or size and budget of the LTER sites, all the experiments will be simple in design, low in cost, low in maintenance and will be explicitly tied to national standards and benchmarks (AAAS 1993, NRC 1996). The University of Northern Colorado views this project as central to its mission as the science education leader in region and to this end has committed over $20,000 in the form of graduate stipends, tuition, and equipment dollars towards its development and implementation (see Budget Justification for details). The manual will be developed over a three period by a team that includes the PI's, and a group of invited in-service teachers, biology researchers and science educators from different geographic and demographic regions of the US. The PI's for this project represent a blend of researchers in ecology and biology education, including experience in theoretical eco logy, population ecology, animal behavior, and student learning. Moreover, they possess over 20 years experience teaching at the middle and high school levels. The input from additional team members is critical to the success of the project and to insure that the manual be applicable to the widest possible audience. While teachers, researchers and science educators share common interests, the reality is that they write to different levels and communicate to different audiences through different venues. The team will meet once per year in a workshop setting to develop the manual. In year one, the team will setup the demonstration plots and activities relevant to each team member's region will be developed. In year two, the team will meet again to refine the exercises. In year three the team will finalize and submit the first edition of the manual. The manual will be disseminated through a national publisher in coordination with the University of Northern Colorado Research Corporation (see Dissemination Plan). Additionally, results will be published in professional journals and presented at national professional meetings. As an added bonus, the campus-LTER sites will also be used to enhance the current ecology and science methods curriculum at UNC. Students (a large percentage of which are pre-service teachers) will be active participants in both short-term and long-term experiments. The pre-service teachers will be exposed to a potent instructional tool that they might integrate into their curricula. Sites will also offer opportunities for faculty and graduate students interested in pedagogically based research. The University of Northern Colorado is well positioned to conduct this project. The University has a long tradition of leadership in science education. Department of Biological Sciences includes faculty specializing in both biology content and pedagogy.