Student-led discussions of peer-reviewed articles in ecology

Instructor Notes: Target audience: This lesson is appropriate for an upper-level ecology course or seminar with a relatively small number of students (less than 25). Prior experience with reading peer-reviewed articles and some background in relevant ecological concepts will be helpful. Articles should be chosen to be appropriate depending on the previous background of the students and the focus of the course. Summary of the lesson: The instructor leads first discussion, and students in groups lead subsequent discussions. For each discussion, the instructor assigns or students chooses an article to complement key concepts relevant to the course (e.g., population, community, or ecosystem processes). Papers may be recent literature to highlight new developments in the field or classic papers to deepen students understanding of the foundations of the field. Prior to student-led discussions, student leaders prepare a document containing a written summary of the article in their own words and a list of potential discussion questions. These questions should include at least 5 open-ended questions for understanding that will assess their classmates comprehension of the article and 5 open-ended questions for discussion that allow for extensions and applications of ideas from the article. Student leaders should also be encouraged to talk with the instructor if they have any areas of confusion as they prepare this document. Once complete, the leaders then share the document with instructor prior to class to allow the instructor to address any final areas of confusion and provide constructive feedback. The other students in the class who are not leading should submit at least one question prior to class (e.g., using a discussion post on a learning management system). These questions may include an area of confusion or another aspect of the paper that they would like to discuss. During class, leaders begin by providing a brief overview of the paper. The leaders should then ask if anyone has any pressing questions (e.g., an area of confusion) that they want to address prior to a more general discussion of the paper. After any such questions are asked and discussed, the leaders then one-by-one ask their prepared questions for understanding and questions for discussion. The other students should answer the questions posed and should also be encouraged to expand on other students answers before moving on from each question. After discussion of the leaders prepared questions, other students and the instructor then may pose additional questions. The instructor may then choose to discuss any key points that that have not yet arisen and provide some concluding remarks to wrap up the discussion. The implementation of this module is flexible depending on needs for the course. For example, in a class of 24 students, this module could be employed to discuss 7 papers over 7 weeks in a discussion section. The instructor would lead the first discussion, and then 6 groups of 4 students would lead subsequent discussions. Alternatively, in a 15-week seminar course, this module could be followed to allow groups of students to lead multiple papers over the course of the term, or students could serve as leaders in smaller groups or even individually. Learning Objectives: Review, critique, and discuss peer-reviewed journal articles. Lead a discussion of a peer-reviewed ecological journal article. Explore links between ecological literature and key concepts and developments in the field. Connections to 4DEE Framework This lesson involves at least one and potentially all dimensions of 4DEE. Core concepts: Students will engage with primary literature that addresses ecological concepts. The specific concept will depend on the paper chosen but could examine ecological concepts at any level from the individual to the biosphere. Ecology Practices: Practices that will be addressed include reading and critiquing peer-reviewed literature, data analysis and interpretation, experimental design, and oral discussion of scientific concepts. Human-Environment Interactions: Articles selected can address a range of interactions such as pollution impacts, fisheries management, climate change, or invasive species impacts and management. Cross-cutting themes: Literature can be selected that deals with cross-cutting themes such as structure and function, pathways and transformations of matter and energy, or variation over space and time. Assessment of Learning Objectives Prior to the class discussion, for students who are not discussion leaders, engagement with the article can be assessed via the question(s) they submit before class. Student leaders can be assessed based on the article summary and list of questions that they submit. <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif