Abstract
BackgroundNational institutes and education initiatives emphasize the need to prepare future biologists to apply discoveries in science towards solving problems that are both social and scientific in nature. Research from socio-scientific, design-based, and problem-based learning demonstrates that contextualized, real-world tasks can improve students’ ability to apply their scientific knowledge in practical ways to navigate social problems. Biomimicry Design is an interdisciplinary field requiring biology and design skills; it informs the creation of sustainable designs through emulation of biological structures and functions that arise as a result of natural selection. Notably, engaging in biomimicry design targets an important biology and engineering learning outcome: understanding of how structure influences function. This study leveraged the practices of biomimicry along with those of design-based learning (DBL) to improve student outcomes in an evolutionary biology undergraduate course. Through DBL, the authors aimed to (1) ignite deeper understanding of how structure determines function in nature (a cross-disciplinary concept) and (2) help students to consider new ways this concept can benefit society (a science process skill).ResultsWe randomly assigned two sections of an upper-division evolutionary biology course to either a biomimicry DBL (DBL group) or species comparison (comparison group) curricular design. Students in the course were exposed to a 1-day lesson, then 1-weeklong case study, and then a final project focused on either biomimicry species-to-human design comparisons (DBL condition) or species-to-species comparisons (comparison condition). To assess the targeted outcomes, we analyzed students’ responses from a pre-post assessment. Students in the biomimicry section were more likely to apply their biological structure–function knowledge to societal benefits when leaving the course. Students in both sections showed comparable gains in structure–function understanding, but there was no change in the number of students who used misconception language in their post-course compared to pre-course responses.ConclusionsWe conclude that our DBL curriculum, above and beyond the comparison curriculum, may support students’ ability to apply biological concepts to societal benefits without compromising structure–function understanding. Overall, these results provide rationale for incorporating tasks situated in DBL to address socio-scientific issues in biology courses.
Highlights
RQ3: To what extent is biomimicry design-based learning (DBL) related to a student’s use of misconception language? From our qualitative coding scheme and two Fisher’s exact tests, we discovered that the types of misconception language used on pre-course responses to either question was not different across section conditions (p-value = 0.5499, Fisher-Freeman-Halton test)
In line with this research, we found that students in the DBL condition were far more likely to list ways to apply their S-F knowledge to benefit society on the post-course assessment compared to students in the comparison condition
Since envisioning applications of scientific knowledge to human problems is a first step in developing a student’s ability to apply knowledge and enact change, it is likely that DBL curricula, such as the one presented, could strengthen students’ abilities to apply complex evolutionary concepts to navigate human problems
Summary
Biology students in the 21st-century must go beyond knowledge attainment and cultivate the ability to apply biological discoveries toward the world’s top crises of climate regulation, food and water security, energy and natural resource use, biological diversity, and health; socio-scientific issues that require both scientific and social knowledge (AACU 2016; Brewer and Smith 2011; Eastwood et al 2013; NRC 2009; NSF 2017) Justifications for such requests are informed by the collective understanding that environmental problems could be significantly mitigated if technological and scientific discoveries were applied toward environmental challenges (Team CW 2007; USDE 2006; WRI 2011). Instead acquisition of application-related knowledge and skills (knowing what mitigating actions to take and how to take them) and their link with beliefs that such actions will be effective are strong predictors of individuals’ motivation to act upon, learn about and work to solve environmental issues (Frick et al 2004; Hewitt et al 2019; Moser and Dilling 2011; Ojala 2015; Truelove and Parks 2012)
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