RESEARCH IN THE REAL WORLD
Working with students
in a river
in the bleak midwinter
padlet.com/r_stubbington/bleak
rachel.stubbington@ntu.ac.uk
Ecology & Env. Management
Biosciences
@rstubbington
26
Some background
In 2013, BSc H Biological Sciences
(Ecology & Environmental
Management) was accredited by…
We modified the degree to
better align it with students’
career goals /
aims
A new, 20 CP year 2 module
was introduced:
Aquatic Ecosystems (AqES)
AqES (now FrEco) designed /
taught by 1 person
Copyright © 1999 Eco-Pros
25
Module overview
• 20 / 17 EEM students in 2013-4 / 2014-15
• Module dominated by a biomonitoring survey
• (Invertebrates used to indicate river health)
• Students used different field/analysis methods
• Individual assessed poster presentations
24
module
ASSESSMENT
• 50 % EX, 50 % CWK
50%
• Coursework element comprises
a single task:
A poster presentation delivered
at an e-conference
• Students consider 1 piece of
CWK per module as risky
• …so the poster needed to be
well-supported
23
Contact hours over 5 weeks
Survey planning* 3 h in computer room
Guest lecture
1h
The survey*
5 h field trip
Invertebrate ID*
4 h lab + 2 h seminar
Data analysis*
3 h in computer room
Drop-in session
2h
Presentations*
3h
+
&
*compulsory
21
1.Planning the survey
• 3 h session in a seminar room
• Students given handout about
all sessions
20
The handout introduced the sites and the problem:
does Duffield impact the ecological quality of the
River Ecclesbourne?
Upstream
Downstream
19
And this year, does Newthorpe STW impact the ecological
quality of Gilt Brook?
Upstream
Downstream
18
1.Planning the survey
• 3 h seminar in computer room
• Students given a handout about
all related sessions
• Split into self-selected groups of
3-4 students
• A Mac for each student to do
research
• Videos / papers shared on
screen
• Aims: to make decisions / plan
survey; submit kit list
17
Decisions, decisions
Which sampling method will you use?
How many samples will you take?
Where will you take samples?
Kick
Vacuum
sampling
pumping of
of
hyporheic bugs?
benthic
bugs?
Kit list needed by the end of the day
16
2. The guest lecture
Martin Winter, Senior
Environmental
Monitoring Officer at the
Gave presentation +
came on field trip
His presentation:
• The work of the EA
• Invertebrates as biomonitors
• Introduced the study sites / rationale
15
3. The Fieldtrip
Kick, Surber, vacuum & Bou-Rouch samples were taken…
14
Students could see methods used by other
groups; several students took >1 sample type
13
Slightly too much fun was had…
12
4. The lab: invertebrate identification
Samples processed & all
invertebrates removed
• Invertebrates identified
using taxonomic keys
• Pre-lab seminar using
keys – 2 h this year
• ID quite time
consuming/challenging
11
Data analysis: One more decision
How will you analyse your dataset?
Choose just one from…
10
2
1.2
12.6
The BMWP index?
The WHPT index?
Multivariate analysis?
LIFE scores?
Group
IV
Group
I
10
5. Data analysis
3 h workshop
(preceded by formative “SPUR”
session this year)
Document / screencasts on:
• Excel – descriptive statistics
formulae for metrics
• SPSS – significance tests
error bar graphs
Small group verbal guidance on
BMWP, WHPT, LIFE, multivariate
analysis
9
6. The e – C O N F E R E N C E
Poster presentation + defence
• Students defended posters
individually
• Poster shown on big screen
• Questioning for <10 mins
At the same time…
• Posters displayed on computer
screens
• All circulated to see posters
• Q sheet completed this year
8
Poster Q U A L I T Y
2013-14
2014-15
Mean +/- 1 SE
63 +/- 7
62 +/- 7
Range
52-74
53-72
1st (%)
15
12
2.1 (%)
45
59
2.2 (%)
40
29
n
20
17
Strengths
• Most were professionally
presented
• Many were well-defended
• Complex stats attempted
7
Could do better
• Relationship between
Results / Discussion
• Novel use of significance
testing
• Phrasing of results esp. p
values
Raw data
Only 1??
P value??
• Data presentation
• Graph editing / presentation
Tiny text
6
Year 1 feedback: what I got right
Letting them get new skills
field trips provide
valuable skills
which add to the
value of my CV
Letting others get
a word in
“guest lectures”
“good, fun educational
field work that links
well with lectures - we
can apply knowledge
to real-life settings”
Linked practicals
…gave a deeper
understanding /
improved learning /
were stimulating
Balancing independence & support
identifying
invertes by myself
was helpful - I
remember more
the poster project
seems well run so
far… support and
communication
were excellent
5
Year 1 feedback: what I got wrong
Lab chaos
Broken eggs
“When identifying
invertebrates, more
staff would be nice, as
…progress is slow”
More time
needed in the lab
(“but the struggle
increased my
confidence”)
Agreed
More
stats
help
needed
OK OK
Maybe
More help
with the
meaning of
stats
OK
More info needs
to be given
about field trips
before hand
Really?
50 % is a lot
for one
piece of
coursework
1 comment
Trips out
There are not
enough trips on
this module
Kind of…
4
Y E A R 2:
Things that went better:
More lab support: 2
academics, 1 SPUR student
More data analysis support –
written + SPUR workshop
Got more out of the econference: questionnaires
But there aren’t the hours
for more field trips
3
Year 2 feedback: what I got right
Lab chaos
Broken eggs
Poster
seems too
heavily
weighted
2 comments
Data analysis
Data
analysis
workshops
v helpful
I valued the
seminars
on
statistical
analysis
Trips out
2
In summary…
A real-world question was posed.
Students did independent, guided
research to answer it.
Positive outcomes
• Ownership / deep learning
• Excellent attendance (77% / 87%)
• Engaged students
• Robust assessment, easy marking
But despite effective additional
support, marks aren’t top-notch
1
Acknowledgements
Martin Winter
Jackie Greef
The students