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Species-Recognition Program: A Computer-Assisted Approach to Recognizing Species

Species recognition is a crucial component for many types of biological studies. To that end, broadly trained students must be able to accurately identify many different types of organisms. Courses that focus on learning the names of different species traditionally rely on preserved specimens viewed...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kelsch, Steven, Carmichael, Jeffrey
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society of Microbiology 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4858363/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27158308
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v17i2.967
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author Kelsch, Steven
Carmichael, Jeffrey
author_facet Kelsch, Steven
Carmichael, Jeffrey
author_sort Kelsch, Steven
collection PubMed
description Species recognition is a crucial component for many types of biological studies. To that end, broadly trained students must be able to accurately identify many different types of organisms. Courses that focus on learning the names of different species traditionally rely on preserved specimens viewed during class or laboratory time. Unfortunately, reliance on preserved specimens comes with many challenges in providing students with an optimal learning experience. The curriculum activity described here uses a modified PowerPoint file (species-recognition program—SRP) as a means of helping students learn to recognize and identify fishes based on subtle visual cues. Our results indicate that students were better able to identify fish species when using the SRP as a learning approach than when using preserved specimens. We suggest that the SRP approach to species recognition is an effective, viable alternative or supplement to preserved specimens that can be easily implemented in any course that emphasizes species identification. Information and materials are provided to enable instructors to create their own species-recognition programs. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
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spelling pubmed-48583632016-05-06 Species-Recognition Program: A Computer-Assisted Approach to Recognizing Species Kelsch, Steven Carmichael, Jeffrey J Microbiol Biol Educ Curriculum Species recognition is a crucial component for many types of biological studies. To that end, broadly trained students must be able to accurately identify many different types of organisms. Courses that focus on learning the names of different species traditionally rely on preserved specimens viewed during class or laboratory time. Unfortunately, reliance on preserved specimens comes with many challenges in providing students with an optimal learning experience. The curriculum activity described here uses a modified PowerPoint file (species-recognition program—SRP) as a means of helping students learn to recognize and identify fishes based on subtle visual cues. Our results indicate that students were better able to identify fish species when using the SRP as a learning approach than when using preserved specimens. We suggest that the SRP approach to species recognition is an effective, viable alternative or supplement to preserved specimens that can be easily implemented in any course that emphasizes species identification. Information and materials are provided to enable instructors to create their own species-recognition programs. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education American Society of Microbiology 2016-05-04 /pmc/articles/PMC4858363/ /pubmed/27158308 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v17i2.967 Text en ©2016 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
spellingShingle Curriculum
Kelsch, Steven
Carmichael, Jeffrey
Species-Recognition Program: A Computer-Assisted Approach to Recognizing Species
title Species-Recognition Program: A Computer-Assisted Approach to Recognizing Species
title_full Species-Recognition Program: A Computer-Assisted Approach to Recognizing Species
title_fullStr Species-Recognition Program: A Computer-Assisted Approach to Recognizing Species
title_full_unstemmed Species-Recognition Program: A Computer-Assisted Approach to Recognizing Species
title_short Species-Recognition Program: A Computer-Assisted Approach to Recognizing Species
title_sort species-recognition program: a computer-assisted approach to recognizing species
topic Curriculum
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4858363/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27158308
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v17i2.967
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