Abstract
A challenge in the Bachelor's studies in Biology is to strike a balance between reducing the teaching of practical scientific experiments to what is feasible in a short time, and teaching “real” science in undergraduate laboratories for high numbers of participants. We describe a laboratory in behavioral biology, with the primary focus on the student learning. However, also the underlying scientific question and the results of the experiment, namely the behavior of the three‐spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in a trade‐off situation during foraging, is without a doubt timely and sufficient for scientific studies on this subject, and this through the experiments conducted and data collected by the students. The students rated this laboratory well and learned at the end that social information is certainly important, but that self‐learning can be more important, and this not only in small fish, but also for the students themselves.
Highlights
The education of students in the Bachelor's studies in Biology is a balancing act between the reduction of scientific experiments to what is feasible in a short time, and the challenge to teach “real” science in undergraduate laboratories (Wilson, 2013), considering the often high number of participants
The feeding behavior of the “demonstrators” provides public information for the actual test fish, the “observers.” In addition, the demonstrators are used to account for potential biases of the test factors on the behavior of the test fish
As the number of replicates increased, smaller differences were tested as significant by the test. We use these data in the laboratory as a good example tank as it is used by the students to observe the behavior of sticklebacks, including the two dividing plates, the green and gray feeding tubes fixed on a Plexiglas base plate, and the mirror attached to the tank in a 45° angle. (a)
Summary
INTRODUCTION AND TASK DEFINITIONThe education of students in the Bachelor's studies in Biology is a balancing act between the reduction of scientific experiments to what is feasible in a short time, and the challenge to teach “real” science in undergraduate laboratories (Wilson, 2013), considering the often high number of participants. We designed an experiment to familiarize students with concepts and tasks of studying animal behavior by addressing a scientifically relevant and well-studied question (Brown & Laland, 2003).
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