These Web pages provide a detailed overview of the contents of the BIRDD Digital Library, along with an example of how BIRDD might be used with other programs to help students ask, and answer, questions about evolution, ecology, systematics and biogeography.
We can make a good case that the quality of biology education directly correlates with how well we help students understand the nature of evolution and evolutionary biology. Evolution is the single most important, global unifying theme in biology (Dobzhansky, Ayala et al. 1977); it raises the most profound questions about the nature of biology as a science (Ayala 1977); and about the nature of humans and our relationships to the rest of nature (Ayala 1977).
As the National Academy of Sciences addresses this issue (National Academy of Sciences 1998),
We are about to enter a century in which the United States will be even more dependent on science and technology…. Such a future demands a citizenry able to use many of the same skills that scientists use in their work…
The ability to use scientific knowledge and ways of thinking depends to a considerable extent on the education that people receive... Yet ... Many students receive little or no exposure to the most important concept in modern biology, ... biological evolution.…
People and groups opposed to the teaching of evolution … have pressed teachers … administrators… (and) textbook publishers to downplay or eliminate treatments of evolution...
These pressures have contributed to widespread misconceptions about the state of biological understanding and about what is and is not science. Fewer than one&endash;half of American adults believe that humans evolved from earlier species. More than one half … say that they would like to have creationism taught in public school classrooms even though the Supreme Court … ruled … "creation science" is a religious idea and … cannot be mandated in the public schools.
Evolutionary concepts and models are too often presented to students without the rich data and arguments on which they are based. And despite its importance, evolution is not often a subject of the course laboratories where students actually confront methods and data. Without such experiences, students do not have a chance to use evolutionary reasoning, and are unable to appreciate the real nature of evolution (and hence of biology). Perhaps this is not surprising, for you just don't 'evolve something' in a semester! Without a ready source of evolution-related data, instructors have been hard-pressed to provide students with experiences that help them develop a deep understanding of evolution.
The Beagle Investigations Return with Darwinian Data project (BIRDD) is a long-term effort to remedy this situation by collecting, and making accessible for use in undergraduate biology education, a wide range of data relating to evolution. We have focused our initial attention on Darwin's finches, for despite their wide recognition as an example of evolution, rich and detailed scientific data on them have not been readily available for use in teaching. (Nor have they been available to other researchers for reanalysis -sadly typical of science in general.)
Data printed in books and journals are difficult to use because they are typically "processed" statistics and tabulations. Students cannot analyze them further. Even if raw data are available in print, students or instructors must first enter and proofread them, a daunting task for even a moderately large data set. BIRDD lowers the threshold for using raw data by collecting them and providing them in electronic form for review and export to other software. Our aim has been to allow students to get on with the job of problem-posing, problem-answering and peer persuasion that are at the heart of the BioQUEST "3 P's" philosophy. [For more information, see: BioQUEST 's 3Ps philosophy.]
The Darwin's Finch Data Resource (DFDR) is the first BIRDD module and aims to provide biological, ecological, geological and other data on the Galapagos Islands in general and on Darwin's finches in particular. The DFDR provides information ranging from island names, maps, vegetation zones and weather, to summaries of finch taxonomy, song recordings, DNA sequences, and measurements of over 650 specimens. These resources are organized in a database that is easy to navigate, view, and print. Most importantly, users can (and should) export the data to other software tools for analysis. In fact, investigstive use of BIRDD requires that students (or faculty) export its data and analyze them with other programs.
Unlike most BioQUEST modules, BIRDD is neither a simulation nor a text module. There are no experiments to "run". Instead, these resources provide rich data that can be used to develop investigations in which evolutionary phenomena can be explored in a realistic manner. These permit "observational" hypothesis testing in contrast to the "experimental" hypothesis testing that most people understand to be "the scientific method".
As a Collection of Data:
Students can explore open&endash;ended problems. Typically, this will mean they:
Click here for details and examples.
As a Curricular Resource:
Instructors who wish to provide "scaffolds" for their students can use the DFDR to develop custom materials by exporting selected data for analysis by whatever spreadsheet, statistics package or other software is available at their institution. The wide variety of data can serve faculty in diverse courses at many levels.
Click here for details and examples.
As a Reference Library:
From experience, we know how confusing the literature can be and the value of a readily-available, consistent collection of reference material.
Click here for details and examples.
Version 1.0 has been completed and was published this fall by Academic Press in The BioQUEST Library CD-ROM Volume 5 (Price and Donovan 1998; Price, Donovan et al. 1998). It currently contains the following data:
BIRDD is a stand-alone program and does not require other software except the MacOS. A version for Windows computers if in progress. BIRDD contains on-line documentation for all data, along with information on how to use the program.
Ayala, F. J. (1977). Philosophical Issues. Evolution. T. Dobzhansky, F. J. Ayala, G. L. Stebbins and J. W. Valentine. San Francisco, W. H. Freeman: 474-516.
Dobzhansky, T., F. J. Ayala, et al. (1977). Evolution. San Francisco, W. H. Freeman.
Gould, S. J. (1995). "Can We Complete Darwin's Revolution?" Dinosaur in a Haystack. S. J. Gould. New York, Crown Trade Paperbacks: 325-334.
National Academy of Sciences (1998). Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science. Washington, DC, National Academy Press. [To go to the NAS site and the full text, click here.]
Price, F. and S. Donovan (1998). "The Darwin's finch data resource: A new first review module in the BioQUEST Library." BioQUEST Notes 8(2): 6.
Price, F., S. Donovan, et al. (1998). Beagle Investigations Return with Darwinian Data (BIRDD) [Computer software]. The BioQUEST Library (CD-ROM). J. R. Jungck, V. V. Vaughan, J. N. Calleyet al. San Diego, CA, Academic Press. 5.
BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium home page: http://bioquest.org/index.html
BioQUEST 's 3Ps philosophy: http://bioquest.org/index3ps.html
BioQUEST Library home page: http://www.academicpress.com/bioquest
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An extended example comparing beak dimensions | |
Information about each database, along with simulations of the user interface and sample data displays. | |