Q2: What are instructor perceptions of module ease of use and
efficacy in teaching data science and ecological forecasting concepts?
Instructors reported that modules were usable and effective in teaching
data science skills and ecological forecasting (Fig. 3a). Importantly,
this increase in skills translated into gains outside of the classroom,
as most instructors reported that they were more likely to use
high-frequency, long-term data as well as data from established
ecological observatory sensor networks (e.g., NEON, GLEON) in their
research after teaching a module (Fig. 3b). Instructor responses to
module feedback surveys indicated that modules were ‘very effective’ in
teaching data science skills and modeling, and ‘very effective’ to
‘extremely effective’ in teaching ecological forecasting. In addition,
instructors reported that modules were ‘very easy’ for students to use
across both the R Shiny materials and other materials (e.g., instructor
manual and introductory presentation), and ‘very easy’ to teach (Fig.
3a).
Most instructors reported that they would use the modules again (Fig.
3b). Seven of the 26 instructors who filled out the feedback survey were
teaching assistants who were not responsible for course curriculum
design and might not teach the class in future years, and the rest were
faculty instructors of record for the course with the ability to make
future decisions regarding course curriculum. For a summary of
instructor qualitative feedback on the modules, see Text S2.