Data Explorations in Ecology Project (DEEP)

本项目评估了在高中科学课堂中使用不同类型的基于地点的生态数据的好处。该项目将结合和评估第一手（学生收集的）和实时二手数据在科学和批判性思维技能教学中的使用。该项目的指导问题是“使用基于地的第一手生态证据，并将其与基于地的二手数据联系起来，是否能提高学生的环境科学素养、科学本质的理解和生态概念的知识？”该计划将探讨的其他问题包括：教师如何通过数据的使用最好地吸引学生理解和评估关键的环境问题？在课堂上使用实时数据是否有助于将学生与科学内容和/或科研团体联系起来？教师需要哪些知识和技能，才能有效利用国家生态观测站网络（NEON）等生态监测网络提供的数据？为了回答这些问题，一个基于地点的生态学课程——改变哈德逊项目——将与区域合作伙伴提供的数据和实地考察一起使用。一项准实验研究将在纽约哈德逊中部山谷的高中班级中比较不同的教学模式，为不同方法的相对优势和局限性提供初步证据。一系列形成性评估方法将用于描述和评估学生对生态学的理解，以及他们收集、分析和应用生态数据的参与、动机和能力。评估将包括在同一所学校的治疗教室和比较教室对学生进行的前后评估。问卷调查、焦点小组访谈和学生档案将用于评估学生在样本教室中的理解和倾向。该提案涉及一个令人兴奋和有趣的研究领域，涉及科学探究方法和网络科学调查的效用。许多K-12教师发现很难让学生接触到真实的环境。实地考察可能很昂贵，而且对责任的担忧让许多教师，尤其是学校管理者不敢让学生体验课堂外的自然环境。这一现象令生态学家感到遗憾，并引发了一场让孩子多出去活动的运动。人们担心，如今的学生患上了“自然缺失症”（Nature Deficit Disorder），这个词是理查德·洛夫（Richard Louv）在《森林里最后的孩子》（Last Child in The Woods）一书中提出的。网络学习的倡导者提出，技术提供了一种解决方案，允许学生虚拟地体验外部世界，他们可以在舒适的课桌上收集和分析生态数据。虚拟体验可能比没有体验要好，但它们与亲身体验相比又如何呢？本提案旨在确定虚拟体验与现实生活体验在理解生态概念、分析生态数据和得出科学合理、有效的结论方面的比较。

This project evaluates the benefits of using different types of place-based ecological data in high school science classrooms. This project will combine and assess the use of first-hand (collected by students) and real-time second-hand data in teaching science and critical thinking skills. The guiding question for the project is "Does using place-based, first-hand ecological evidence, and relating that to place-based, second-hand data, improve students' environmental science literacy, nature of science understanding, and knowledge of ecological concepts?" Other questions the proposed project will explore include: How can teachers best engage students in understanding and evaluating critical environmental problems through the use of data? Does the use of real-time data in the classroom help connect students with science content and/or the scientific research community? What knowledge and skills do teachers need in order to make effective use of the data being made available to them by ecological monitoring networks such as National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)? To answer these questions, a place-based, ecology curriculum, the Changing Hudson Project, will be used along with data and field trips provided by regional partners. A quasi-experimental study in high school classes in the Mid-Hudson Valley of NY will compare different instructional models, providing preliminary evidence of the relative strengths and limitations of different approaches. A range of formative assessment methods will be used to describe and assess students' understanding of ecology, and their engagement, motivation and capacity for collecting, analyzing, and applying ecological data. The evaluation will include pre-and post-assessments given to students in the treatment classrooms and in a comparison classroom in the same schools. Questionnaires, focus group interviews, and student portfolios will be used to assess student understanding and dispositions in sample classrooms. This proposal addresses an exciting and interesting area of research regarding the inquiry approach to science and the utility of cyber-enabled science investigations. Many K-12 teachers find it difficult to expose students to the real environment. Field trips can be expensive, and liability concerns scare many teachers and especially school administrators away from allowing students to experience natural settings outside of the classroom. This phenomenon is lamented by ecologists and has led to a movement to get kids outside more. The concern is that students today have a 'Nature Deficit Disorder,' as coined by Richard Louv in his book 'Last Child in the Woods.' Advocates of cyber-learning propose that technology provides a solution by allowing students to experience the outside world virtually, and that they can collect and analyze ecological data from the comfort of their classroom desks. Virtual experiences may be better than no experience at all, but how do they compare with first-hand experiences? This proposal aims to determine how virtual experiences compare to real-life experiences with regard to understanding ecological concepts, analyzing ecological data, and drawing scientifically-reasoned, valid conclusions.