Collaborative Research: Using Tree Rings to Develop Critical Scientific and Mathematical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate Students

合作研究：利用树木年轮培养本科生批判性的科学和数学思维能力

• 批准号: 1405664
• 负责人: Nicole Davi
• 金额: $ 23.58万
• 依托单位: William Paterson University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2020-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1405664&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Using; Tree; Rings

The project is a collaborative effort among Columbia University, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Passaic County Community College, and Centralia College to develop, evaluate and refine undergraduate science and mathematical modules based on applications of tree rings to age dating, climate and environmental change, volcanic hazards, statistical modeling, and forensic science. Interactive multi-media modules are being made available through a website and are accompanied by background material and guidelines for flexible use to instructor adoption. Students can measure tree-ring widths virtually and/or use datasets to conduct inquiry-based investigations and quantitative analyses, with an emphasis on learning the process of science. The project is also conducting faculty-development workshops at the partnering institutions, and undertaking rigorous evaluation of learning outcomes.The intellectual merit of the project lies in its innovative approach to leveraging the readily grasped basic premise and wide range of applicability of tree-ring science to engage students in learning scientific methods and quantitative reasoning. Broader impacts include infusion of tree-ring science in the undergraduate curriculum at the diverse partnering institutions and beyond. Skills and attitudes imparted by the modules both benefit students who go on in STEM and bolster scientific literacy among the general population.

该项目是哥伦比亚大学、西点美国军事学院、帕塞伊克县社区学院和森特勒利亚学院之间的一项合作努力，旨在开发、评估和改进基于树木年轮在年龄测定、气候和环境变化、火山灾害、统计建模和法医学方面的应用的本科科学和数学模块。互动式多媒体单元通过一个网站提供，并附有背景材料和指导方针，供教员灵活使用。学生可以虚拟地测量树木年轮宽度和/或使用数据集进行基于调查的调查和定量分析，重点是学习科学的过程。该项目的智力优势在于其创新方法，利用树木年轮科学易于掌握的基本前提和广泛的适用性，让学生学习科学方法和定量推理。更广泛的影响包括在不同的合作机构和超越的本科课程注入树木年轮科学。这些模块传授的技能和态度既有利于继续从事STEM的学生，也有利于提高普通民众的科学素养。