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

随着科学领域大数据的快速增长，理解和管理它们在本科教育中的使用变得越来越重要。该项目将调查如何利用化石信息的大型数据库--古生物学数据库(PBDB)，为本身不一定拥有大量化石收藏的两年制和四年制大学的本科生提供研究经验。它还将调查学生在使用大型数据库(如PBDB)进行研究经历后，对科学研究的态度发生了怎样的变化。两年制大学和远程学习计划寻求以研究为基础的替代传统实验室活动的方式，而“大数据”为他们所追求的实践科学提供了机会。“大数据”科学倡议，如古生物学数据库(PBDB)，提供了负担得起和容易获得的研究机会，但它们在本科生课堂上的价值程度尚未得到测试和记录。PBDB包含了来自世界各地的专家输入的丰富的化石数据。研究技能，如批判性思维、统计学和计算机，对于有科学素养的公民来说是必不可少的。这个项目将指导如何利用其他大型科学数据库为本科生创造研究经验，并为其他地球科学项目提供让本科生参与科学研究的手段。将研究经验整合到本科课堂中可以增加理科学生的招生、留住、坚持和动力。诸如古生物学数据库(PBDB)这样的“大数据”科学倡议可以提供廉价和可获取的研究机会，但这些项目在本科课堂上的价值还有待测试和记录。这个项目将：(1)评估使用PBDB的研究经验与实地或实验室研究经验的比较；(2)建立大型在线数据库如何作为一种工具，为两年制和四年制大学的学生提供有效的研究经验；(3)并确定研究数据库如何用于向非专业、专业和职前教师教授STEM原理。为实现这些目标，将为PBDB开发指导性研究活动和新的用户界面。该项目将在弗吉尼亚州的两对两年制和四年制院校中实施基于PBDB的研究活动，以吸引具有广泛不同背景的学生。这个项目将评估“大数据”科学在本科教育中的适用性，特别是在线数据库能在多大程度上让学生参与真实的研究体验。研究活动将侧重于对科学素养至关重要的内容，并将以此为脚手架，建立可转移的技能，包括批判性思维、量化技能和对数据库的理解。这项工作产生的新的PBDB接口和研究活动将在不同的两年制和四年制大学中实施，从而能够评估其在机构类型和学生群体中的适用性，包括与传统教育环境相比的远程学习。

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.