Collaborative Research: Leveraging "Big Data" to Explore Big Ideas: Utilizing the Paleobiology Database to Provide Hands-on Research Opportunities for Undergraduates

协同研究：利用“大数据”探索大创意：利用古生物学数据库为本科生提供实践研究机会

• 批准号: 1504588
• 负责人: Rowan Lockwood
• 金额: $ 4.73万
• 依托单位: College of William and Mary
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-06-15 至 2019-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1504588&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Leveraging; Big; Data

With the rapid growth of "big data" in the sciences, the need to understand and manage their use in undergraduate education has become increasingly important. This project will investigate how the Paleobiology Database (PBDB), a large database of fossil information, can be leveraged to provide research experiences to undergraduates at two and four-year colleges that do not necessarily have extensive fossil collections of their own. It will also investigate how students' attitudes towards scientific research change after engaging in research experiences using a large database such as the PBDB. Two year colleges and distance-based learning initiatives seek research-based alternatives to traditional lab activities, and "big data" provides opportunities for the hands-on science they pursue. "Big data" science initiatives, such as the Paleobiology Database (PBDB), provide affordable and easily accessible research opportunities, but the extent of their value in the undergraduate classroom has yet to be tested and documented. The PBDB contains a wealth of data on fossils entered by experts from around the world. Research skills, such as critical thinking, statistics, and computing, are essential to scientifically literate citizens. This project will guide how other large scientific databases can be used to craft research experiences for undergraduate students, and provide the means for other earth science programs to engage their undergraduates in scientific research.Integration of research experiences into the undergraduate classroom can result in increased recruitment, retention, persistence, and motivation of science students. "Big data" science initiatives, such as the Paleobiology Database (PBDB), can provide inexpensive and accessible research opportunities, but the value of these programs in the undergraduate classroom has yet to be tested and documented. This project will: (1) evaluate how research experiences using the PBDB compare to field or lab-based research experiences; (2) establish how a large online database can be leveraged as a tool to provide effective research experiences for students at two and four-year colleges; (3) and determine how research databases can be used to teach STEM principles to non-majors, majors, and pre- service teachers. To accomplish these goals, guided research activities and a new user interface will be developed for the PBDB. The project will implement the PBDB-based research activities across two pairs of two-year and four-year institutions in Virginia that attract students with broadly diverse backgrounds. This project will assess how applicable "big data" science is to undergraduate education, specifically to what extent online databases can engage students in authentic research experiences. Research activities will focus on content crucial to scientific literacy, and will be scaffolded to build transferable skills including critical thinking, quantitative skills, and database savvy. The new PBDB interface and research activities resulting from this work will be implemented across a diversity of two- and four-year colleges, allowing the evaluation of its applicability across institution types and student populations, including distance learning versus traditional educational settings.

随着科学“大数据”的快速增长，了解和管理他们在本科教育中的使用的需求变得越来越重要。 该项目将调查古生物学数据库（PBDB）如何利用大量化石信息数据库，以为两年和四年学院的大学生提供研究经验，这些大学不一定会拥有广泛的化石收集。它还将调查学生使用大型数据库（例如PBDB）从事研究经验后对科学研究变化的态度。两年的大学和基于距离的学习计划寻求基于研究的传统实验室活动的替代方案，“大数据”为他们追求的动手科学提供了机会。 “大数据”科学计划，例如古生物学数据库（PBDB），提供了负担得起且易于访问的研究机会，但是它们在本科课堂中的价值程度尚未进行测试和记录。 PBDB包含有关世界各地专家输入的化石的大量数据。批判性思维，统计和计算等研究技能对于科学识字公民至关重要。该项目将指导如何使用其他大型科学数据库为本科生创作研究经验，并为其他地球科学计划提供了吸引其本科生参与科学研究的手段。将研究经验的融合到本科课堂上可以增加招聘，保留，保留，持久性，持久性和动力科学学生的动力。 “大数据”科学计划，例如古生物学数据库（PBDB），可以提供廉价且易于访问的研究机会，但是这些计划在本科教室中的价值尚未进行测试和记录。 该项目将：（1）评估使用PBDB与现场或基于实验室的研究经验相比的研究经验； （2）确定如何利用大型在线数据库作为一种工具，为两年和四年制大学的学生提供有效的研究经验； （3）并确定如何使用研究数据库向非裁判，专业和服务前教师讲授STEM原理。为了实现这些目标，将为PBDB开发指导研究活动和新的用户界面。该项目将在弗吉尼亚州的两双两年和四年制的机构中实施基于PBDB的研究活动，这些研究吸引了具有广泛不同背景的学生。 该项目将评估“大数据”科学对本科教育的适用程度，特别是在线数据库可以使学生参与真实的研究经验。研究活动将侧重于对科学素养至关重要的内容，并将被脚手架以建立可转让的技能，包括批判性思维，定量技能和精通数据库。这项工作产生的新的PBDB界面和研究活动将在两年和四年的大学中实施，从而可以评估其在机构类型和学生群体中的适用性，包括远程学习与传统教育环境。