Strategies for enhancing the learning of ecological research methods and statistics by tertiary environmental science students

Abstract

AbstractTo undertake rigorous research in biology and ecology, students must be able to pose testable hypotheses, design decisive studies, and analyse results using suitable statistics. Yet, few biology students excel in topics involving statistics and most attempt to evade optional courses in research methods. Over the last few years, we have developed a tertiary-level unit to create a positive, inquiry-based, learning environment for teaching survey methods and statistics to environmental science students. This paper reports the success of incorporating a staged sequence of learning and assessment tasks into an ecological research methods unit. To gauge reactions to the strategies incorporated into the unit, all students completed a questionnaire and several students were interviewed while the lecturer involved was interviewed. Overall, students demonstrated acquisition of fundamental research skills, enhanced understanding of the subtleties of the scientific method, and improved confidence in their use...