The Native Bees of Texas: Evaluating the Benefits of a Public Engagement Course

Insects

John L. Neff¹  Shalene Jha²  Laurel Treviño Murphy³  Shelly Engelman⁴ 

[1] Central Texas Melittological Institute, Austin, TX 78731, USA;Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA;Outreach Program, Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 401 Biological Laboratories, 205 W 24th Street, Austin, TX 78712, USA;Research and Evaluation, Custom EduEval LLC, Austin, TX 78749, USA;

关键词: STEM outreach;    learning outcomes;    perceived knowledge;    identification skills;    pollinator insects;    biodiversity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/insects12080702

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Declines in native bee communities due to forces of global change have become an increasing public concern. Despite this heightened interest, there are few publicly available courses on native bees, and little understanding of how participants might benefit from such courses. In October of 2018 and 2019, we taught the ‘Native Bees of Texas’ course to the public at The University of Texas at Austin Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center botanical gardens in an active learning environment with slide-based presentations, printed photo-illustrated resources, and direct insect observations. In this study, we evaluated course efficacy and learning outcomes with a pre/post-course test, a survey, and open-ended feedback, focused on quality improvement findings. Overall, participants’ test scores increased significantly, from 60% to 87% correct answers in 2018 and from 64% to 87% in 2019, with greater post-course differences in ecological knowledge than in identification skills. Post-course, the mean of participants’ bee knowledge self-ratings was 4.56 on a five-point scale. The mean of participants’ ratings of the degree to which they attained the course learning objectives was 4.43 on a five-point scale. Assessment results provided evidence that the course enriched participants’ knowledge of native bee ecology and conservation and gave participants a basic foundation in bee identification. This highlights the utility of systematic course evaluations in public engagement efforts related to biodiversity conservation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown