Incorporating research into the undergraduate wildlife management curriculum

Abstract

We incorporated a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) into a Wildlife Management Techniques course to improve student skills and confidence in bird identification and research, study design, and scientific writing. The course objective was to provide hands-on experiences for students and give them exposure to field methods used in wildlife science. We added a bird observation study to the existing course curriculum where students formulated a research question, designed a 4-week study to address the question, and wrote a report in scientific journal style. Students (n = 38) were given a pre-survey and a post-survey with Likert statements and a quiz on bird identification. We expected that students would improve in their perceived confidence in science practices, knowledge of bird species, and interest in bird ecology. We observed improved perceived confidence in the science practice of data organization. Students improved their ability to identify bird species by an average of 18%. However, students had no change in bird ecology interest prior to and after the study. Eighty-nine and 97% of students agreed that the course helped them improve their bird identification and research skills, respectively. Adding this research experience allowed students to expand their skills, exposed them to research concepts, and provided a collaborative working environment that can make them more marketable for future employment or graduate school opportunities.

Wildlife Undergrads Spread Their Wings in Citizen Science Research Experience

“…The citizen science aspect of this study was part of a much larger project that entailed the integration of a CURE into the classroom in Ortiz et al [ 24 ]. Given this, the data presented here only represents a snapshot of information gathered during that project.…”

“…Students designed their own bird monitoring study, conducted bird surveys, entered data into the STWB site, analyzed their data, and communicated their findings in a written report. Full details regarding the implementation of this CURE and related methods can be found in Ortiz et al [ 24 ]. The 44 enrolled students were provided a consent form and of those, 38 students signed the consent form and completed both the written pre-survey (at the start of the course) and post-survey (at the end of the course) surrounding the implementation of the study.…”

“…Additional questions about gender, race/ethnicity, outdoor activity participation, and their top three wildlife careers that they hope to work in were included. Because these survey questions and statements were part of a much larger project survey from Ortiz et al [ 24 ], reliability measures cannot be calculated for so few items and what is presented here was approached as a case study to gather views and experiences of the students [ 25 ]. Separate McNemar tests for paired, nominal data with continuity correction were used to analyze pre- and post-responses to the yes-or-no questions.…”