Authentic inquiry is exceptionally effective, and arguably essential, in promoting student interests and enhances their learning in ecology education. Field- and lab-based authentic inquiry experiences, however, are limited for large undergraduate ecology classes due to logistical difficulties. E-learning approaches and increasing availability of web-based authentic ecological data can potentially be effective in enabling authentic inquiries in large classes. A web-based authentic inquiry project was developed based on spatial interactions among grizzly bears and implemented in an introductory ecology course at Texas A&M University in Fall 2006. Individual students observed the spatial distribution and behavior of the grizzly bears at McNeil River Falls in Alaska using videos and stills captured by the Bear Cam, discussed their observation in web discussion groups, and then developed a hypothesis about spatial distribution of and interactions among grizzly bears. They tested their hypotheses by collecting data from the Bear Cam stills, wrote individual reports about their findings, and participated in an on-line calibrated peer review process to review the works of peers and their own. Results of a survey (289 respondents) showed substantial increases in self-reported interest in ecology (55% high or very-high vs. 34% prior to the inquiry project), ability to formulate hypotheses (63% high or very-high vs. 33% prior), ability to evaluate the quality of a scientific report (43% high or very-high vs. 17% prior), and understanding of how ecologists conduct their research (43% high or very-high vs. 12% prior). The majority of respondents disliked the calibrated peer review process, however, 62% of them felt that after participating in peer review, they would have done their study or report differently. This experience shows the feasibility of web-based authentic inquiries in large ecology classes and their promise for promoting student interest and enhancing their learning.
