Simulation Modeling of Lakes in Undergraduate and Graduate Classrooms Increases Comprehension of Climate Change Concepts and Experience with Computational Tools

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dc.contributor.authorCarey, Cayelan C.en
dc.contributor.authorGougis, Rebekka Darneren
dc.contributor.departmentBiological Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-08T12:57:47Zen
dc.date.available2019-10-08T12:57:47Zen
dc.date.issued2017-02en
dc.description.abstractEcosystem modeling is a critically important tool for environmental scientists, yet is rarely taught in undergraduate and graduate classrooms. To address this gap, we developed a teaching module that exposes students to a suite of modeling skills and tools (including computer programming, numerical simulation modeling, and distributed computing) that students apply to study how lakes around the globe are experiencing the effects of climate change. In the module, students develop hypotheses about the effects of different climate scenarios on lakes and then test their hypotheses using hundreds of model simulations. We taught the module in a 4-hour workshop and found that participation in the module significantly increased both undergraduate and graduate students' understanding about climate change effects on lakes. Moreover, participation in the module also significantly increased students' perceived experience level in using different software, technologies, and modeling tools. By embedding modeling in an environmental science context, non-computer science students were able to successfully use and master technologies that they had previously never been exposed to. Overall, our findings suggest that modeling is a powerful tool for catalyzing student learning on the effects of climate change.en
dc.description.notesWe thank the amazing undergraduate students at Virginia Tech and graduate students in GLEON who participated in the Lake Modeling module and provided data for this study. We are grateful to the entire Project EDDIE team, especially Catherine O'Reilly, for their support and assistance. Saumitra Aditya, Ken Subratie, Renato Figueiredo, and Paul Hanson developed the distributed computing overlay network tools for the module as part of the GRAPLE (GLEON Research and Lake PRAGMA Expedition) team, and Jon Doubek and Kate Hamre provided invaluable assistance teaching the module. We appreciate administrative support provided by CeMaST (Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology) at Illinois State University. This work was financially supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (DEB 1245707 and ACI 1234983).en
dc.description.sponsorshipCeMaST (Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology) at Illinois State University; National Science Foundation [DEB 1245707, ACI 1234983]en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-016-9644-2en
dc.identifier.eissn1573-1839en
dc.identifier.issn1059-0145en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/94395en
dc.identifier.volume26en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectSimulation modelingen
dc.subjectClimate change educationen
dc.subjectHypothesis-testingen
dc.titleSimulation Modeling of Lakes in Undergraduate and Graduate Classrooms Increases Comprehension of Climate Change Concepts and Experience with Computational Toolsen
dc.title.serialJournal of Science Education And Technologyen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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Scholarly Works, Biological Sciences
Destination Area: Global Systems Science (GSS)