Virtual Ecology: An Inquiry-Based Online Learning Environment

东田纳西州立大学（ETSU）的生物学教师和教育工作者团队开发了各种各样的交互式模拟模型，旨在帮助加强学生对重要生态学和进化生物学概念的理解。这些模型模拟了生态学和进化生物学中的经典实验，涉及自然选择、性选择、种群遗传学、遗传力、选择反应、种间相互作用、种群生物学、生物多样性测量和生态系统生态学等领域。这些模块的目的是让学生操纵实验变量和观察结果的图形，表格，并在实验世界的动画，并加强基本概念，如实验控制和复制学生进行虚拟实验。由于模拟模型产生的结果与生物现实的变化，所产生的数据非常适合用于教学生物数据的统计分析。项目团队已经将其中的几个模型整合到入门和高级生物课程中，作为虚拟实验室，预实验室和家庭作业练习。目前项目的一个主要目标是通过免费提供模型和材料，扩大为单一机构课程使用而编写的这些材料的影响。调查人员正在评估这些模式作为教育工具的功效，为这些单元编写相关的课程材料，并开发一个最先进的网站（可在任何有互联网接入的机构使用），以永久容纳该项目。该项目的一个中心重点是对模拟模型作为东田纳西州立大学和其他三个机构提供的课程中的学习工具的有效性进行广泛的、多方面的分析。研究人员还对模拟模型在六个学期的特定课程中作为讲座增强功能的效果进行了全面评估，并创建了一个论坛，以便在其他机构使用模型的教师提供反馈和建议。

A team of biology faculty and educators at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) has developed a wide variety of interactive simulation models that are designed to help strengthen student understanding of important ecology and evolutionary biology concepts. The models simulate classic experiments in ecology and evolutionary biology, in topical areas such as natural selection, sexual selection, population genetics, heritability, response to selection, interspecific interactions, population biology, biodiversity measures, and ecosystem ecology. The modules are designed to allow students to manipulate experimental variables and observe results in graphs, tables, and in an animation of the experimental world, and to reinforce fundamental concepts such as experimental controls and replication as students conduct virtual experiments. Because the simulation models produce results with biologically realistic variation, the data generated are well-suited to be used in teaching the statistical analysis of biological data. The project team has integrated several of these models into introductory and upper-level biology courses as virtual laboratories, pre-labs, and homework exercises. A major goal of the current project is to broaden the impact of these materials developed for use in a single institution's courses by making the models and material freely available. The investigators are assessing the efficacy of the models as educational tools, developing associated curricular materials for the modules, and developing a state-of-the-art website (that can be used at any institution with Internet access) to permanently house the project. A central focus of the project is to conduct an extensive, multifaceted analysis of the effectiveness of simulation models as learning tools in courses offered at East Tennessee State University and at three other institutions. The investigators are also conducting an overall assessment of how well simulation models function as lecture enhancements in a specific course over six semesters, and creating a forum to allow feedback and suggestions from instructors using the models at other institutions.