Strategies for Incorporating Long-Term, Distributed-Network Research Projects into the Undergraduate Curriculum: Lessons from the Ecological Research as Education Network's Decomposition Project

Tracy B. Gartner; Carolyn L. Thomas; Kevin Geedey; Kim Bjorgo-Thorne; Jeffrey A. Simmons; Kathleen L. Shea; Jerald J. Dosch; Craig R. Zimmermann

doi:10.1525/abt.2020.82.3.142

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20 March 2020 Strategies for Incorporating Long-Term, Distributed-Network Research Projects into the Undergraduate Curriculum: Lessons from the Ecological Research as Education Network's Decomposition Project

Tracy B. Gartner, Carolyn L. Thomas, Kevin Geedey, Kim Bjorgo-Thorne, Jeffrey A. Simmons, Kathleen L. Shea, Jerald J. Dosch, Craig R. Zimmermann

Author Affiliations +

Tracy B. Gartner,¹ Carolyn L. Thomas,² Kevin Geedey,³ Kim Bjorgo-Thorne,⁴ Jeffrey A. Simmons,⁵ Kathleen L. Shea,⁶ Jerald J. Dosch,⁷ Craig R. Zimmermann⁸

¹Tracy B. Gartner (tgartner@carthage.edu) is a Professor of Environmental Science and Biology at Carthage College, Kenosha, WI 53140.
²Carolyn L. Thomas was a Professor of Environmental Science and Biology at Ferrum College, Ferrum, VA 24088. Sadly, she passed away in January 2020.
³Kevin Geedey (kevingeedey@augustana.edu) is a Professor of Biology at Augustana College, Rock Island, IL 61201.
⁴Kim Bjorgo-Thorne (bjorgo@wvwc.edu) is an Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, WV 26201.
⁵Jeffrey A. Simmons (simmons@msmary.edu) is a Professor of Environmental Science at Mount St. Mary's University, Emmitsburg, MD 21727.
⁶Kathleen L. Shea (sheak@stolaf.edu) is a Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN 55057.
⁷Jerald J. Dosch (dosch@macalester.edu) is the Director of the Katherine Ordway Natural History Study Area and an Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55105.
⁸Craig R. Zimmermann (czimmermann@rsu.edu) is an Associate Professor of Biology at Rogers State University, Claremore, OK 74017.

The American Biology Teacher, 82(3):142-148 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2020.82.3.142

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Abstract

Increasingly, undergraduate institutions are incorporating original research into the curriculum as a matter of best practice. However, while the practice of science has grown more collaborative, undergraduate research has remained largely confined to single-institution studies. Incorporating long-term, distributed research projects into the undergraduate research experience can better prepare students to interpret and engage in science of the future. The Decomposition in Aquatic and Terrestrial Invaded Systems (DATIS) project within the Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN) offers a good model for examining how to minimize challenges and maximize opportunities associated with classroom use of long-term, collaborative research projects. Eleven key challenges are identified, and practical solutions are provided for each. By modeling this scientific approach in primarily undergraduate institutions, we are preparing graduates who will have the tools and knowledge to work collaboratively and create their own distributed research networks. Our goal is that the decomposition project we describe here can inform and inspire others seeking to engage in research at the undergraduate level, either as potential research coordinators or as collaborators in an existing network.

© 2020 National Association of Biology Teachers. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Reprints and Permissions web page, https://www.ucpress.edu/journals/reprints-permissions.

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Tracy B. Gartner, Carolyn L. Thomas, Kevin Geedey, Kim Bjorgo-Thorne, Jeffrey A. Simmons, Kathleen L. Shea, Jerald J. Dosch, and Craig R. Zimmermann "Strategies for Incorporating Long-Term, Distributed-Network Research Projects into the Undergraduate Curriculum: Lessons from the Ecological Research as Education Network's Decomposition Project," The American Biology Teacher 82(3), 142-148, (20 March 2020). https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2020.82.3.142

Published: 20 March 2020

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The American Biology Teacher
Vol. 82 • No. 3
March 2020

KEYWORDS

collaborative research projects

course-based undergraduate research

Decomposition

EREN

undergraduate research experience

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Tracy B. Gartner, Carolyn L. Thomas, Kevin Geedey, Kim Bjorgo-Thorne, Jeffrey A. Simmons, Kathleen L. Shea, Jerald J. Dosch, Craig R. Zimmermann "Strategies for Incorporating Long-Term, Distributed-Network Research Projects into the Undergraduate Curriculum: Lessons from the Ecological Research as Education Network's Decomposition Project," The American Biology Teacher, 82(3), 142-148, (20 March 2020)

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