Computers to Support Quantitative Analysis/Statistics Across a Biology Curriculum

我们正在装备一个实验室，以支持在生物学课程中系统地教授统计学。学生们通常不理解或不理解量化意味着什么，然而大多数科学都需要收集和分析数据。虽然让学生参与动手，以项目为导向的实验室练习对科学教学至关重要，但我们也认为学生应该采取下一步行动，了解如何正确操作，分析和显示他们的数据。我们在整个课程中教授统计学，从入门课程的基本原理开始，然后在200/300级的必修课程中扩展和加强这些原理和统计程序。两个移动实验室（每个实验室配备8台Gateway笔记本电脑）可以前往任何实验室，并与新机房的部门服务器联网；因此，笔记本电脑的功能与我们现在使用显微镜的方式大致相同，显微镜可以放在移动推车上，人人都可以使用。我们教所有学生如何使用一个通用的统计软件包，他们有一个部门开发的统计手册，解释了课程中使用的所有统计程序的基本理论、方法和实际应用。在参与任何高级研究课程之前，学生在至少6门不同的课程和众多不同的项目中参与收集，操纵，分析和显示自己的数据；因此，他们在进入学术生涯的这一阶段时，对实验设计和统计分析有了更好的理解。我们相信我们的系统方法会取得成功，因为学生将在整个学术课程中以重复、有组织和一致的方式进行统计。此外，如果成功的话，这种方法可以转移到任何强调统计学的学术课程中，而不管学科（即许多自然科学或社会科学学科）。

We are equipping a laboratory to support a systematic approach to the teaching of statistics across a biology curriculum. Students often do not understand or appreciate what it means to be quantitative and yet most science requires the collection and analysis of data. While getting students involved in hands-on, project-oriented laboratory exercises is critical to the teaching of science, we also believe that students should then take the next step and understand how to manipulate, analyze and display their data correctly. We are teaching statistics across our curriculum by beginning with first principles in our introductory course and then expanding and reinforcing these principles and statistical procedures in our 200/300 level required courses. The two mobile labs (each with 8 Gateway notebook computers) can travel to any laboratory and be networked to a departmental server in a new computer room; thus the notebook computers function in much the same way as we now use microscopes which are on mobile carts and available to everyone. We are teaching all students how to use a common statistics software package, and they have a departmentally developed statistics manual that explains the underlying theory, methodology and practical application of all statistical procedures used in the course. Students are involved in collecting, manipulating, analyzing and displaying their own data in at least 6 different courses and in a multitude of different projects before becoming involved in any upper level research course; thus, they enter this phase of their academic careers with a better understanding of experimental design and statistical analysis. We believe our systematic approach will be successful because students will be doing statistics throughout their academic program in a repetitive, organized and consistent manner. Furthermore, if successful, this approach is transferable to any academic program where statistics is emphasized, regardless of discipline (i.e., many natural science or soci al science disciplines).