PARENT SESSION
Symposium #4: Restoration Education.
Organized by: LM Jablonski and KM Rodriguez
Monday, August 5. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Maricopa Meeting Room, TCC.
Promoting an understanding of biological inquiry: curricular reform and Grinnell College's Center for Prairie Studies .
Brown, Jonathan*,1, Caruso, Christina2, Mottl, Larissa1, Eckhart, Vince1, 1 Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA2 Duke University, Durham, NC
ABSTRACT- As part of a major curricular reform, biology faculty at Grinnell College have created a suite of new introductory courses, each of which explores a particular biological problem. One of these, Prairie Restoration, introduces students to basic concepts in restoration biology, while emphasizing the ways that biologists ask questions, test hypotheses through observation and experimentation, and communicate their results. We teach in workshop format at nearby remnant prairies and at the reconstructed tallgrass prairies at our biological field station. Following two initial investigations that introduce students to methods of comparative and experimental analysis of prairie communities, teams of students carry out an investigation of their own design. Following peer review, students publish the results of these studies in an electronic scientific journal (web.grinnell.edu/cera/tillers.html). The class also includes discussions of the human history of the prairie region, and the ethical and economic challenges to the conservation and restoration of grasslands. We are assessing whether this approach to teaching introductory biology succeeds with students whose learning styles conflict with traditional lecture formats. In our second year, 75% of the students reported that the course changed their perspective on science, and a majority indicated higher confidence in their ability to learn about new scientific topics. Similar responses were found in other sections, which focused on wide range of research topics. This introductory course in methods of inquiry builds on a departmental history of using restoration areas for advanced course work and research. It also coincides with new efforts at outreach to the wider college community, local elementary schools, and the public through the college's Center for Prairie Studies.
KEY WORDS: restoration education, prairie, active learning, intedisciplinary education