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

校园生态学：实验场地作为生态原理教学工具

• 批准号: 9653190
• 负责人: Gerald Saunders
• 金额: $ 9.99万
• 依托单位: University of Northern Colorado
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1997
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1997-05-15 至 2001-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9653190&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Campus; Ecology; Experimental; Field; Sites

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.

该项目的目标是通过编制和分发一本手册，介绍小规模校园长期生态研究地点（学校长期生态研究地点），改善6-16岁的生物教育。在高中阶段和在许多情况下在本科阶段的生态学课程的一个共同特点是缺乏一个实验为基础的实地经验。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长期接触试验点，并提供可在这些地点进行试验的例子。这种方法不同于传统的校园使用，提出了在文献中的实验模式。对于落基山脉西部，长期的实验，以解决营养物质的可用性，提高水的可用性和放牧对短草草原演替的影响。还将开展对该国其他地区具有更大相关性的实验。无论提出什么问题，也无论长期接触试验场地的规模和预算如何，所有试验都将设计简单、成本低、维护费用低，并将明确地与国家标准和基准挂钩（美国科学促进会，1993年;核研究委员会，1996年）。北方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，已承诺以研究生津贴、学费和设备费用的形式提供超过20，000美元用于其开发和实施（详细信息请参阅预算说明）。 该手册将由一个团队在三个时期内开发，该团队包括PI，以及一组来自美国不同地理和人口区域的受邀在职教师，生物学研究人员和科学教育工作者。PI的这个项目代表了生态学和生物学教育，包括理论生态学，种群生态学，动物行为学和学生学习的经验的研究人员的混合。 此外，他们拥有20多年的初中和高中教学经验。来自其他团队成员的投入对于项目的成功至关重要，并确保手册适用于尽可能广泛的受众。虽然教师、研究人员和科学教育工作者有着共同的兴趣，但现实情况是，他们的写作水平不同，通过不同的渠道与不同的受众交流。 该小组将每年举行一次研讨会，以编写手册。在第一年，团队将建立示范区，并制定与每个团队成员所在地区相关的活动。在第二年，该小组将再次开会，以完善演习。在第三年，该小组将完成并提交手册的第一版。 该手册将与北方科罗拉多大学研究公司协调，通过一个国家出版社散发（见散发计划）。 此外，研究结果将发表在专业期刊上，并在国家专业会议上发表。作为一个额外的奖励，校园LTER网站也将被用来加强目前的生态和科学方法课程在墨尔本。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，他们可能会融入他们的课程。网站还将为对教学研究感兴趣的教师和研究生提供机会。 北方科罗拉多大学很适合进行这个项目。该大学在科学教育方面有着悠久的领导传统。生物科学系包括专门从事生物学内容和教育学的教师。