An exploratory case study of interactive simulation for teaching Ecology

Citation

Ameerbakhsh O, Maharaj S, Hussain A, Paine CET & Taiksi S (2016) An exploratory case study of interactive simulation for teaching Ecology. In: 2016 15th International Conference on Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training (ITHET). ITHET 2016: 15th International Conference on Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training, Istanbul, Turkey, 08.09.2016-10.09.2016. Piscataway, NJ, USA: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ITHET.2016.7760725

Abstract
This paper explores the effectiveness of interactive simulation for teaching a selected complex subject, Ecology, in higher education. Specifically, we carry out a lab intervention using interactive agent based simulation, to teach the complex concept of spatially-explicit predator prey interaction to undergraduate students of an advanced module: BIOU9CE (Community Ecology & Conservation Applications) at the University of Stirling. We propose use of Netlogo, an interactive agent-based simulation tool, and evaluate its effectiveness for learning and teaching of interactive simulation developed specifically for the classroom, compared with an existing, less interactive, simulation tool (R).

Keywords
case study;E-learning;interactive computer simulation;ecology