Campus Ecology: Experimental Field Sites as Tools for Teaching Ecological Principles

该项目的目标是通过制作和传播一本描述小规模校园长期生态研究地点（校本LTER地点）的手册，改善6-16岁学生的生物教育。高中阶段生态学课程的一个共同特点是缺乏以实验为基础的实地经验，在许多情况下在本科阶段也是如此。以学校为基础的LTER站点将允许职前和在职教师积极参与正在进行的短期和长期生态研究。该手册将详细说明如何在校园内建立LTER站点，并提供可在这些站点进行的实验示例。这种方法与传统的校园实验不同，它是根据文献中的实验进行的。以西部落基山脉为研究对象，研究了养分有效性、水分有效性和放牧对短草草原演替的影响。还将开展与该国其他地区更有关联的实验。无论所提出的问题或LTER站点的规模和预算如何，所有的实验都将设计简单，成本低，维护成本低，并将明确地与国家标准和基准挂钩（AAAS 1993, NRC 1996）。北科罗拉多大学将该项目视为其作为该地区科学教育领导者的核心使命，并为此目的承诺以研究生津贴，学费和设备美元的形式为其发展和实施提供超过20,000美元的资金（详见预算理由）。该手册将由一个包括PI和一组来自美国不同地理和人口区域的受邀在职教师、生物学研究人员和科学教育工作者在内的团队分三个阶段编写。该项目的PI代表了生态学和生物学教育领域的研究人员，包括理论生态学、种群生态学、动物行为学和学生学习方面的经验。此外，他们拥有超过20年的初中和高中教学经验。来自其他团队成员的输入对项目的成功至关重要，并确保手册适用于尽可能广泛的受众。虽然教师、研究人员和科学教育者有着共同的兴趣，但现实情况是，他们写作的层次不同，通过不同的场所与不同的受众交流。该小组每年将在研讨会上召开一次会议，以制定手册。在第一年，团队将建立示范地块，并开发与每个团队成员所在地区相关的活动。在第二年，团队将再次会面以完善练习。在第三年，团队将完成并提交手册的第一版。该手册将与北科罗拉多大学研究公司协调，通过一个国家出版商进行分发（见分发计划）。此外，研究结果将在专业期刊上发表，并在国家专业会议上发表。作为额外的奖励，校园lter网站还将用于加强北卡罗来纳大学目前的生态学和科学方法课程。学生（其中很大一部分是职前教师）将积极参与短期和长期实验。职前教师将接触到一种强有力的教学工具，他们可能会将其整合到自己的课程中。网站还将为对基于教学的研究感兴趣的教师和研究生提供机会。北科罗拉多大学有能力开展这个项目。这所大学在科学教育方面有着悠久的领导传统。生物科学系包括专门从事生物学内容和教学的教师。

The goal of the project is to improve 6-16 biology education through the production and dissemination of a manual describing small scale campus-based long-term ecological research sites (school-based LTER sites). A common feature of ecology curriculum at the high school level and in many instances at the undergraduate level is a lack of an experimentally-based field experience. School-based LTER sites will allow pre-service and in-service teachers to be actively involved in ongoing short- and long-term ecological research. The manual will detail how to establish LTER sites on school grounds and provide examples of experiments that could be conducted at the sites. The approach differs from traditional uses of school yards by presenting experiments patterned after those in the literature. For the Rocky Mountain West, long-term experiments are presented to address the effects of nutrient availability, enhanced water availability and grazing on short grass prairie succession. Experiments that have greater relevance to other regions of the country will also be developed. Regardless of the questions asked or size and budget of the LTER sites, all the experiments will be simple in design, low in cost, low in maintenance and will be explicitly tied to national standards and benchmarks (AAAS 1993, NRC 1996). The University of Northern Colorado views this project as central to its mission as the science education leader in region and to this end has committed over $20,000 in the form of graduate stipends, tuition, and equipment dollars towards its development and implementation (see Budget Justification for details). The manual will be developed over a three period by a team that includes the PI's, and a group of invited in-service teachers, biology researchers and science educators from different geographic and demographic regions of the US. The PI's for this project represent a blend of researchers in ecology and biology education, including experience in theoretical eco logy, population ecology, animal behavior, and student learning. Moreover, they possess over 20 years experience teaching at the middle and high school levels. The input from additional team members is critical to the success of the project and to insure that the manual be applicable to the widest possible audience. While teachers, researchers and science educators share common interests, the reality is that they write to different levels and communicate to different audiences through different venues. The team will meet once per year in a workshop setting to develop the manual. In year one, the team will setup the demonstration plots and activities relevant to each team member's region will be developed. In year two, the team will meet again to refine the exercises. In year three the team will finalize and submit the first edition of the manual. The manual will be disseminated through a national publisher in coordination with the University of Northern Colorado Research Corporation (see Dissemination Plan). Additionally, results will be published in professional journals and presented at national professional meetings. As an added bonus, the campus-LTER sites will also be used to enhance the current ecology and science methods curriculum at UNC. Students (a large percentage of which are pre-service teachers) will be active participants in both short-term and long-term experiments. The pre-service teachers will be exposed to a potent instructional tool that they might integrate into their curricula. Sites will also offer opportunities for faculty and graduate students interested in pedagogically based research. The University of Northern Colorado is well positioned to conduct this project. The University has a long tradition of leadership in science education. Department of Biological Sciences includes faculty specializing in both biology content and pedagogy.