Macrosystems EDDIE teaching modules significantly increase ecology students' proficiency and confidence working with ecosystem models and use of systems thinking.

ABSTRACT: Simulation models are increasingly used by ecologists to study complex, ecosystem-scale phenomena, but integrating ecosystem simulation modeling into ecology undergraduate and graduate curricula remains rare. Engaging ecology students with ecosystem simulation models may enable students to conduct hypothesis-driven scientific inquiry while also promoting their use of systems thinking, but it remains unknown how using hands-on modeling activities in the classroom affects student learning. Here, we developed short (3-hr) teaching modules as part of the Macrosystems EDDIE (Environmental Data-Driven Inquiry & Exploration) program that engage students with hands-on ecosystem modeling in the R statistical environment. We embedded the modules into in-person ecology courses at 17 colleges and univ

SUBMITTER: Carey CC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7679539 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature