Virtual Ecology: An Inquiry-Based Online Learning Environment

东田纳西州立大学（ETSU）的一组生物学教师和教育工作者开发了各种各样的交互式模拟模型，旨在帮助学生加强对重要生态学和进化生物学概念的理解。这些模型模拟了生态学和进化生物学的经典实验，涉及自然选择、性选择、群体遗传学、遗传力、选择反应、种间相互作用、群体生物学、生物多样性措施和生态系统生态学等主题领域。这些模块的目的是让学生操纵实验变量和观察结果的图表，表格，并在实验世界的动画，并加强基本概念，如实验控制和复制的学生进行虚拟实验。由于模拟模型产生的结果具有生物学上的真实变化，因此生成的数据非常适合用于生物数据统计分析的教学。项目团队已经将其中几个模型集成到入门和高级生物学课程中，作为虚拟实验室、预实验室和家庭作业。当前项目的一个主要目标是通过使模型和材料免费提供，扩大这些为单个机构的课程使用而开发的材料的影响。研究人员正在评估这些模型作为教育工具的功效，为这些模块开发相关的课程材料，并开发一个最先进的网站（可以在任何有互联网接入的机构使用）来永久地容纳这个项目。该项目的一个核心重点是对东田纳西州立大学和其他三所机构提供的课程中模拟模型作为学习工具的有效性进行广泛的、多方面的分析。研究人员还对六个学期内某门特定课程的模拟模型作为讲课强化的效果进行了全面评估，并创建了一个论坛，允许其他机构使用该模型的教师提供反馈和建议。

A team of biology faculty and educators at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) has developed a wide variety of interactive simulation models that are designed to help strengthen student understanding of important ecology and evolutionary biology concepts. The models simulate classic experiments in ecology and evolutionary biology, in topical areas such as natural selection, sexual selection, population genetics, heritability, response to selection, interspecific interactions, population biology, biodiversity measures, and ecosystem ecology. The modules are designed to allow students to manipulate experimental variables and observe results in graphs, tables, and in an animation of the experimental world, and to reinforce fundamental concepts such as experimental controls and replication as students conduct virtual experiments. Because the simulation models produce results with biologically realistic variation, the data generated are well-suited to be used in teaching the statistical analysis of biological data. The project team has integrated several of these models into introductory and upper-level biology courses as virtual laboratories, pre-labs, and homework exercises. A major goal of the current project is to broaden the impact of these materials developed for use in a single institution's courses by making the models and material freely available. The investigators are assessing the efficacy of the models as educational tools, developing associated curricular materials for the modules, and developing a state-of-the-art website (that can be used at any institution with Internet access) to permanently house the project. A central focus of the project is to conduct an extensive, multifaceted analysis of the effectiveness of simulation models as learning tools in courses offered at East Tennessee State University and at three other institutions. The investigators are also conducting an overall assessment of how well simulation models function as lecture enhancements in a specific course over six semesters, and creating a forum to allow feedback and suggestions from instructors using the models at other institutions.