Peer Review

Connecting Concepts: Ecology/Population Dynamics 3: Elephant Population Growth

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Reviewed:: Sep 16, 2005 by Biology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: Ecology/Population Dynamics is one of a series of interactive web-based lessons designed to give introductory undergraduate biology students opportunities to connect biology concepts. Each lesson is a series of screens that breaks the topic down into simple steps and then illustrates the connections between the steps to present the completed concept or process. Population dynamics is highly mathematical and very difficult for introductory biology students to understand. This site can be used as a supplement to the lecture to allow students to review the topic at their own pace and as many times as desired. This lesson topic is an application of the theory in lessons 1 and 2 to actual data. A very good help screen is provided to help students use the lessons. The larger site containing the entire series will be very useful at the introductory level
Type of Material:: Tutorial.
Recommended Uses:: This site could be used in many ways. 1. As the basis of a classroom lecture presentation. 2. As an out-of-class assignment before the topic is covered in class. 3. As a study tool for students after topic is presented in class.
Technical Requirements:: Use of a current web browser will be required. Macromedia Flash Player 6 plug-in is required.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The major focus of this lesson is to help students understand exponential and logistic growth models and the mathematics behind the models. This lesson topic is a summary and application of the two growth models.
Target Student Population:: College level.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Students will need to have a basic understanding of calculus (differential equations). Students will also be expected to have read the text assignments on this topic.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

The lesson requires students to work with data from hypothetical situations to illustrate exponential and logistic growth curves.
The lesson includes manipulating data tables, graphs, and using the equations that describe growth to calculate specific parameters.
Questions asked throughout lessons help student get feedback on understanding of concepts/process.
Animations clearly connect the different parts of each process into a coherent whole.

Concerns:

None.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

Manipulation of data as part of lesson makes it an excellent learning tool.
Clearly demonstrates relationships between elements of each concept.
The site can be used in several waysas a direct teaching tool in a distance learning course, as a lecture outline, as a review and study tool for students after topic covered in class.
Some of the questions asked promote problem solving by student.
Some of the questions asked will be very challenging for introductory students.
Completion of plans for links to assessments and image/animation data bases will greatly enhance the usefulness of the site.

Concerns:

The math required may be beyond the skill level of many students.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

Instructions clear, especially when manipulating components and entering animations.
Instructors manual available; summarizes the contents of each of the lesson topics.
Glossary available for selected terms.

Concerns:

None.

Other Issues and Comments:: This series of lessons has outstanding potential for use by faculty and students everywhere. The concepts are broken down to simple parts and then reassembled by an interactive process and use of data manipulation.
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