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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
An innovative approach to using an intensive field course to build scientific and professional skills
Ecology and Evolution, Vol.12(10), pp.1-13
2022
PMID: 36311410
Abstract
This paper reports on the design and evaluation of Field Studies in Functional Ecology (FSFE), a two-week intensive residential field course that enables students to master core content in functional ecology alongside skills that facilitate their transition from "student" to "scientist." We provide an overview of the course structure, showing how the constituent elements have been designed and refined over successive iterations of the course. We detail how FSFE students: (1) Work closely with discipline specialists to develop a small group project that tests an hypothesis to answer a genuine scientific question in the field; (2) Learn critical skills of data management and communication; and (3) Analyze, interpret, and present their results in the format of a scientific symposium. This process is repeated in an iterative "cognitive apprenticeship" model, supported by a series of workshops that name and explicitly instruct the students in "hard" and "soft" skills (e.g., statistics and teamwork, respectively) critically relevant for research and other careers. FSFE students develop a coherent and nuanced understanding of how to approach and execute ecological studies. The sophisticated knowledge and ecological research skills that they develop during the course is demonstrated through high-quality presentations and peer-reviewed publications in an open-access, student-led journal. We outline our course structure and evaluate its efficacy to show how this novel combination of field course elements allows students to gain maximum value from their educational journey, and to develop cognitive, affective, and reflective tools to help apply their skills as scientists.
Details
- Title
- An innovative approach to using an intensive field course to build scientific and professional skills
- Authors
- Adrienne B. Nicotra (Corresponding Author) - Australian National UniversitySonya R. Geange (Author) - Australian National UniversityNur H. A. Bahar (Author) - Australian National UniversityHannah Carle (Author) - Australian National UniversityAlexandra Catling (Author) - Australian National UniversityAndres Garcia (Author) - Australian National UniversityRosalie J. Harris (Author) - Australian National UniversityMegan L. Head (Author) - Australian National UniversityMarvin Jin (Author) - Australian National UniversityMichael R. Whitehead (Author) - The University of MelbourneHannah Zurcher (Author) - Australian National UniversityElizabeth A. Beckmann (Author) - Australian National University
- Publication details
- Ecology and Evolution, Vol.12(10), pp.1-13
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1002/ece3.9446
- ISSN
- 2045-7758
- PMID
- 36311410
- Copyright note
- © 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Organisation Unit
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99746498802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
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