Most college students taking a traditional ecology course spend a considerable amount of time listening to lectures and taking notes. Ecology courses that have a laboratory component generally also incorporate field exercises or computer modeling. Recent research suggests that traditional lecture methods do little to enhance long-term retention and may not do enough to encourage a broader understanding of ecological principles in students.

Tamir developed a method of assessing science laboratories by classification of the types of exercises utilized. Starting at a level of one, these laboratories give students all the procedures and expect students to follow the instructions to obtain strongly predictable results. Our primary objective was to redesign the laboratory component of a college-level ecology class to fulfill Tamir’s highest laboratory classification at level four. The redesign resulted in an inquiry-based laboratory that encourages students to develop their own questions, methods, and conclusions about an ecological problem.   

Through this senior-level ecology course, students are paired up with freshmen biology students who function as their assistants. Pre- and post- assessments are conducted on the senior students and their freshmen assistants before and after course completion. Once paired, the senior students select an ecological principle or technique from a published article following a literature review. This article is used as the basis of a replication experiment that they construct and execute.                        

Senior students design an ecological experiment and administer it from beginning to end. Using several published articles as background for their own experiment, students then construct a timeline, develop a supply list, and estimate a budget. Senior students coordinate with their freshmen assistants in building and acquiring equipment, carrying our replications, reviewing results, and drawing conclusions. The course culminates in a formal poster presentation of the experiments for each of the senior students in the course.

Results/Conclusions

This is a novel laboratory technique that shifts the focus from instructor-centered instruction to student-centered learning. Students spend less time in lecture and more time collaborating with younger students and conducting their own research. Students become familiar with current ecological literature, scientific methodology, and a bevy of ecological techniques. Throughout this process, we have seen improvements in both the senior students and the freshmen assistants by means of a better awareness of the broad scope of ecological issues, a deeper understanding of the research process, an appreciation of collaboration, and increased motivation to continue a career in ecological research.