Targeted Infusion Project to Invert the Classroom in Fish and Wildlife Science Disciplines: Enhancing experiential learning opportunities across the curriculum.

研究启动奖(RIA)为开始建立研究计划的历史黑人学院和大学(HBCU)的初级教师提供支持，以及为需要重新指导和重新建立研究计划的职业生涯中期教师提供支持。预计该奖项有助于促进教师的研究能力和有效性，改善研究人员所在机构的研究和教学，并让本科生参与研究经验。阿拉巴马农工大学(AAMU)的研究启动项目将彻底改革现有六门鱼类和野生动物课程的本科生教学，这六门课程构成了一所历史悠久的黑人大学经认证的林业项目的集中区，以提高学生学习成果的表现。课程内容将成为学习模块的重要组成部分，将在在线教学支持计划Blackboard Learn®上设计和提供。课堂时间包括完成定量作业和书面作业。具体活动包括在网上提供所有课堂讲稿和作业，并将现有的定量作业发展或扩展为实验室实验和实地练习，需要技术上的书面研究报告。这些活动是对一种相对较新的教学方法(颠倒课堂)的优点的评估，该方法旨在提高与实现量化能力和沟通能力有关的现有学生学习成果的表现。体验式学习具有提高定量问题解决和沟通能力的潜力，从而提高本科生在野生动物生物学方面的成功。这些活动可能会改善学生在渔业和野生动物生物学学科现有学术课程(未成年人)中的学习结果，这些学科的少数民族参与率极低(不到1%)。作为一项NSF激发竞争研究(EPSCoR)权限的实验计划，该项目在地理上扩大了参与范围，并通过努力吸引和留住生物和生态科学中代表性较低的少数族裔学生。该项目利用了美国农业部(USDA)之前在课程开发和改进方面的投资。项目成果将广泛传播。

Research Initiation Awards (RIAs) provide support for junior faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who are starting to build a research program, as well as for mid-career faculty who need to re-direct and re-build a research program. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, improves research and teaching at the researcher's home institution, and involves undergraduate students in research experiences.The research initiation project from Alabama A&M University (AAMU) will overhaul undergraduate student instruction in six existing fish and wildlife courses that compose a concentration area in an accredited forestry program at a historically black university to improve performance on student learning outcomes. Course content will become substantial portions of learning modules to be designed and made available on Blackboard Learn®, an on-line instructional support program. Class time will consist of performing quantitative and written assignments. Specific activities include making all lecture notes and assignments available on-line and developing, or expanding existing, quantitative homework assignments into lab experiments and field exercises requiring technically written research reports. These activities constitute an evaluation of the merits of a relatively new teaching pedagogy (inverting the classroom) designed to increase performance on existing student learning outcomes related to achievement of quantitative and communication competencies. Experiential learning has the potential to improve quantitative problem solving and communication competencies to increase undergraduate success in wildlife biology. The activities will likely improve student learning outcomes in existing academic programs (minors) in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology disciplines where minority participation is extremely low (less than 1%). As an NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) jurisdiction, this project broadens participation geographically as well as through efforts to attract and retain underrepresented minority students in biological and ecological sciences. The project leverages previous investments in course development and improvement from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Project outcomes will be disseminated broadly.