Kingston presented the findings of a 25-year retrospective study examining the impact of two different pedagogical approaches on student engagement and learning in a field-based ecology course at the 118th annual meeting of the North Carolina Academy of Science on March 19.
Mike Kingston, professor of biology and environmental studies at Elon University, presented the findings of a 25-year retrospective study examining two pedagogical approaches: the cookbook traditional laboratory model and an inquiry-based model that includes course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs).
His presentation was titled “Less is More: Incorporating Undergraduate Research Experiences into a General Ecology Course.” His results revealed significant increases in student perceptions of their learning (SPoT course evaluations) as well as their academic performance (course grade) with the inquiry-based model incorporating CUREs. This meeting, held at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, also marked his inauguration as the incoming president of the North Carolina Academy of Science for the 2022-2023 academic year.