PS 94-131
Applied learning in undergraduate ecology and plant eco-physiology education
One of the great challenges students majoring in diverse fields of ecology, including areas of organismal and plant biology, wildlife conservation and management, natural sciences or other fields, is the increasing expectations in gaining hands-on experience in research techniques, to successfully compete for internships, graduate and employment opportunities. One of the strengths and core mission of undergraduate-education focused institutions such as Missouri Western State University (MWSU) is the ability to directly involve undergraduates in non-traditional Applied Learning experiences, outside of the classroom. An example of this is developing collaborative Applied Learning projects that involve faculty and students. This work presents specific case-study examples of such non-traditional Applied Learning experiences for undergraduates in plant eco-physiology, within projects focusing on questions such as “Do alterations in plant isoprene emission affect marcescence in oak species and alter litter formation patterns?”; “How does climate change feedback on vegetative isoprene emissions?”; “How does the spectral quality of incident irradiation affect plant eco-physiology?” and “Does the isoprene emission capacity provide a competitive advantage to invasive species, such as kudzu?”, in the ideal setting of over 700 acres offered by the Missouri Western State University campus, as an outdoors active learning environment.
Results/Conclusions
From 2012 to present 20 majors of the Department of Biology at MWSU interested in plant eco-physiology have been involved in the above multidisciplinary projects. The projects were designed to actively engage students in research, from planning to experimentation, data analysis and presentation of the results. Students learned to map campus vegetation using GPS and GIS technologies, to identify plant species, handle specialized instrumentation, to measure photosynthesis rates, sample isoprene emission rates and to collect samples for and perform a variety of biochemical analyses and worked as a team in the field and in the laboratory. Collected preliminary survey data demonstrate that participating in Applied Learning projects results in an increased appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of life sciences and improves critical thinking of participating students. 95% of students involved in undergraduate Applied Learning experiences gained employment or were accepted to graduate programs within the first year after their graduation, in their field of specialty.