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Strategies to Build Observation Skills for Integrative and Organismal Biology Undergraduates: A Scoping Review
Brandi Goss1, Kelly Goedde-Matthews1, Robert E Furrow1
1Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Abstract:
The ability to observe natural phenomena and connect those observations to theoretical concepts and processes is critical for knowledge integration and scientific inquiry in integrative and organismal biology. However, no published effort had reviewed evidence-based pedagogical methods for teaching scientific observation skills in integrative and organismal biology. This review found 53 papers with relevant pedagogical interventions for increasing observation skills from a diversity of disciplines (e.g., ecology, health sciences, and environmental sciences) and participant populations (preschool through postgraduate). However, only 2 studies assessed interventions aimed at improving observation skills for undergraduate biology students. More research is needed to understand how these pedagogical strategies might translate to undergraduate integrative and organismal biology students. Pedagogical strategies fell into 4 main categories (manipulating the learning environment, scaffolding the observation process, and engaging with arts interpretation or creation), with arts interpretation showing particular promise for translation to integrative and organismal biology applications.
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