The goal of this project is to develop a species of bruchid bean beetle as a model system for inquiry-based undergraduate laboratories in ecology, evolutionary biology, and animal behavior. The bruchid bean beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, is among most tractable, robust and inexpensive animal systems available but is not widely used outside of research laboratories. The project team is designing and disseminating a handbook that develops faculty expertise in using bean beetles in undergraduate laboratories, with specific advice to faculty on how to implement the exercises for active student learning using inquiry-based pedagogies. Additionally, the project team is designing, pilot testing, and disseminating five inquiry-based experiments in ecology, evolutionary biology, and animal behavior that use bean beetles as a model system.
Intellectual Merit C. maculatus provides a unique opportunity to take a model system that is actively used in the research community and develop it into a readily adaptable model system for teaching laboratories at the undergraduate level. In addition, the development of materials for promoting the teaching of inquiry-based laboratory experiments in ecology, evolutionary biology, and animal behavior is integral to the proposed project. Evaluation includes several different measurements of student learning of content and methodologies, and appraisal of the developed faculty resources by faculty participants at workshops at appropriate professional meetings.
Broader Impacts The development of the laboratory experiments involves undergraduate student assistants who are trained in research methodology. In addition, the majority of the students involved in the development and pilot testing of the experiments are at Morehouse College, an HBCU, thus increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in the areas of ecology, evolutionary biology, and animal behavior. The materials developed in this project are disseminated through a dedicated website (www.beanbeetles.org), workshops and presentations at annual meetings that address undergraduate STEM education issues, and publication in journals of the undergraduate STEM education community.
