TURBO: The Undergraduate Saco River Biodiversity Observatory -- A Long-Term Ecological Research-Style Research Experience to Enhance STEM Education

在一个依赖科学和技术的社会，STEM教育对成功越来越重要，但大学生对STEM学习项目的坚持程度普遍较低，这些项目通常由传统的讲座和标准的实验室练习主导。将本科生研究机会纳入课程已被证明可以提高学生的学习能力和毅力。该项目将实施跨学科课程，为新英格兰大学文理学院的所有STEM学生提供真实的研究体验。研究人员将通过开发新的课程模块、鼓励本科生研究项目、开展以项目主题为中心的跨学科会议，以及实施有针对性的教师发展，创造一个以项目为导向的学习体验。研究人员将研究学生学习中越来越多的动手、跨学科方法在多大程度上提高了学生对STEM的保留率和持久性。在该学院的所有STEM系中，至少有29门课程（1600多名在校生）将同时开展对中南河口各方面的评估、监测或建模。学生将调查城市、盐沼、潮间带和开放水域的栖息地，并应用生态学、生理学、分子生物学、植物学、动物学、数学、化学和物理学的方法。中央数据库和门户网站将为大学内部和公众提供跨学科数据挖掘所需的数据。本研究旨在证明基于Kolb学习理论的体验式学习可以加深学生对美国国家科学基金会长期生态研究项目（LTER）中科学家的研究过程的理解。这些活动将包括小组合作解决问题，使用大型数据集，以及参与数据的创建和共享。这种方法还将帮助学生理解科学不仅仅是死记硬背的学习，而是一种可以被他们质疑和创造的东西。此外，该项目将采用基于地方的教育来吸引学生参与项目和STEM。通过这种方法，(1)周围现象是课程开发的基础，(2)学生成为知识的创造者而不是消费者，(3)学生的问题是决定学习内容的核心，(4)教师充当经验丰富的向导和共同学习者，(5)学校和社区之间的墙变得具有渗透性并且经常被跨越。通过在大学四年中反复接受基于地方的教育，本科生将获得渐进的、深入的STEM经验，这将使他们能够将发现的过程与学习和知识创造联系起来，并将他们准备成为领导者、教师和创新者。

STEM education is increasingly important for success in a society that depends on science and technology, but college students' persistence in STEM programs of study, which are often dominated by traditional lectures and standard lab exercises, is generally low. Integrating undergraduate research opportunities into the curriculum has been shown to increase student learning and persistence. This project will implement an interdisciplinary curriculum that provides authentic research experiences for all STEM students in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New England. The investigators will create a project-oriented learning experience using the local estuary of the Saco River by developing new course modules, stimulating undergraduate research projects, conducting an interdisciplinary conference focusing on the project's theme, and implementing targeted faculty development. The investigators will examine the extent to which the increased hands-on, interdisciplinary approaches to student learning lead to increased student retention and persistence in STEM.Across all STEM departments in the college, at least 29 courses with an enrollment of more than 1,600 students will work simultaneously on assessing, monitoring, or modeling aspects of the Saco River estuary. Students will investigate urban, salt marsh, intertidal, and open water habitats and apply methods of ecology, physiology, molecular biology, botany, zoology, mathematics, chemistry, and physics. A central database and web portal will make the data available for interdisciplinary data mining within the university and by the public. The investigators aim to demonstrate that experiential learning based on Kolb's learning theory can deepen students' understanding of the process of research as practiced by scientists in a long-standing NSF program, Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER). The activities will include working in groups to solve problems, using large data sets, and participating in the creation and sharing of data. Such an approach will also help students to comprehend science as more than rote learning -- as something that can be questioned and produced by them. Furthermore, the project will use place-based education to draw students into the project and into STEM. With this approach, (1) surrounding phenomena are the foundation for curriculum development, (2) students become creators rather than consumers of knowledge, (3) students' questions are central in determining what is studied, (4) teachers act as experienced guides and co-learners, and (5) the wall between school and community becomes permeable and is crossed frequently. Through repeated exposure to place-based education over their four years at the university, undergraduates will gain progressive, in-depth experiences with STEM, which will enable them to connect the process of discovery with learning and knowledge creation and will prepare them to be leaders, teachers, and innovators.