Toads, Roads, and Nodes: Collaborative Course-Based Research on the Landscape Ecology of Amphibian Populations

该项目连接了本科生生态学课程网络，以开展一个合作的、动手的研究项目，重点是大规模分析两栖动物的栖息地需求。对于许多学生来说，这个项目是他们处理大型数据集的第一次经验，该项目的方法旨在提高在数字时代进行科学研究所必需的高度可移植的技能(即数据集成和分析)。每门课程的学生都将美国地理服务中心关于各自地区两栖动物种群的数据与谷歌地球的栖息地数据进行匹配。他们的数据被提交给一个共享数据库，该数据库被分析以确定两栖动物栖息地的关联。智力优势：该项目提供了有关土地利用对美国两栖动物种群影响的有用信息。它还通过增加每个两栖动物调查地点的栖息地和景观数据，扩充了一个重要的公共数据库。更广泛的影响：从教育的角度来看，该项目为来自不同学校的400名学生提供了真实的研究体验，这些学校包括两年制学院、公立研究型大学和历史上为少数族裔服务的大学。该项目的评估重点是合作研究体验对学生对科学的兴趣、学生对科学的态度以及学生对科学课程的保留的影响。该项目由生物科学理事会、生物基础设施部和教育与人力资源局、本科教育部共同资助，作为他们努力实现本科生物学教育愿景与变革的一部分。

This project links networks of undergraduate ecology courses to carry out a collaborative, hands-on research project focusing on a large-scale analysis of habitat requirements for amphibians. For many students, this project is their first experience working with large data sets, and the project's methods are designed to sharpen the highly transferable skills (i.e., data integration and analysis) necessary for doing science in the digital age. Students in each course match United States Geographical Service data on amphibian populations from their own region with habitat data from Google Earth. Their data are submitted to a shared database that is analyzed to determine amphibian-habitat associations. Intellectual merit: The project provides useful information on the effects of land use on amphibian populations in the U.S. It also augments an important public database by adding habitat and landscape data for each amphibian survey location. Broader impacts: From an educational perspective, this project provides an authentic research experience for up to 400 students from a diverse group of schools including two-year colleges, public research universities, and historically minority-serving universities. Assessment of the project focuses on the effects of a collaborative research experience on students' interest in science, student attitudes about science, and student retention in science programs.This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts toward Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education.