Practitioners and administrators of biological pedagogy agree on the importance of integrating research into undergraduate lecture courses. While problem-based learning approaches are increasingly incorporated into introductory classes, the ability to dissect primary literature is a skill typically reserved for senior seminar or capstone experiences. Ideally, reading, comprehending, and applying concepts from primary literature would be taught early and repeatedly, as these abilities can reinforce basic ecological concepts while exposing students to novel field and statistical techniques. Several templates or frameworks for primary literature comprehension have been developed, but the efficacy of primary literature in teaching basic ecological concepts has yet to be fully tested. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of primary literature, and pedagogical approaches to that literature, on student learning.
Results/Conclusions
In introductory biology courses, students without prior exposure to primary ecological literature read papers using guidelines, and in-class paper discussions were structured using peer-learning and just-in-time teaching approaches. Summative assessments indicated that the triumvirate of explicit reading guidelines, peer exchanges, and just-in-time teaching significantly improved learning and retention of ecological concepts among freshmen biology majors. Peer interactions had the most influence on student understanding. Future work will focus on testing this suite of pedagogical approaches to primary literature with students at different academic stages or types of institutions.