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 \nb[mkraczkowski@usj.edu](mkraczkowski@usj.edu) Biology Department, University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT, USA  \n*corresponding author  \nAbstract  \nIn fall of 2019, a new capstone course, wildlife biology, was offered as part of the biology curriculum at the University of Saint Joseph. The course fully embraced problem-based learning (PBL), project-based learning, and service-learning strategies. It provided a service to the campus community through the task of creating a management plan for two wetlands located on the campus given the problem of invasive plants. Student engagement in the topic and project was enhanced through the development of student teams and the opportunity to work with stakeholders. In responding to stakeholder project requests, students showed increased motivation, ownership in the project, and skill development. Through implementing this course, we unexpectedly observed increased development of students’ leadership, maturity, and scientific curiosity.  \n Keywords: problem-based learning, service-learning, field biology, undergraduate biology   \nIntroduction  \nProblem based learning (PBL) dates to the early 1960s as a novel educational method of teaching at McMaster University’s medical school (Graaff and Kolmos 2007) . This method engages students to seek answers in an active independent manner as opposed to being passively fed the information by an instructor (Graaff and Kolmos 2007) . It has since seen successful use across the world in K-12 and secondary education and has been implemented in nearly all disciplines (Graaff and Kolmos 2007) . While touted asthe first pedagogy that promotes student-centered problem-solving learning styles, there are others such as case-study based learning (Hmelo-Silver 2004), service-learning (Furco 2011) and project-based learning (Graaff and Kolmos 2007) . These varying pedagogy styles can overlap in practice or be carried out within a narrower scope. Case study and project learning as the terms imply, focus on material presented by the instructor to the students to work with or build from. Service learning has morphed over the decades and numerous definitions can be employed in its execution (Furco 2011), with the common element that a service must be provided toa body outside of the classroom (e.g. campus community, local town community, etc. ) . Thus, one can see that it is possible to combine some of these styles of learning for utilization in a course. One example would be combining service learning through the scope of a particular project and/or problem (PBL + Service learning; Tawfik, Trueman, and Lorz 2014) that is presented to students to solve. Elements of these three strategies were used in combination for the design of our Wildlife Ecology course and will be described here in this paper.  \nAt the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) in West Hartford, CT, excellence in teaching is a priority for which innovation and active learning are encouraged. Several courses in the biology curriculum have included PBL, or at least parts of PBL, including: Advanced Cellular Biology, Introduction to Cellular Biology, Microbiology, and Principles of Environmental Science. Project based learning strategies has historically been embraced by the biology department as the Driving framework of its capstone courses by utilizing research projects in all capstone courses. Additionally, as a Mercy institution, the University’s mission and core values (“USJ History, Mission & Goals” 2021) are reflected in various aspects of course work as well by developing a student’s sense of responsibility to the needs of society through identifying where knowledge gaps exist and attempting to fill them through research. Student-centered problem-solving pair","cbCaihiJTMl63pYo","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihiJTMl63pYo","pdf",276358,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Problem-Based Learning (PBL)\n## Service-Learning and Project-Based Learning\n## Curriculum Context at the University of Saint Joseph\n## Need for Organismal and Environmental Content\n## Capstone Course Requirements","[{\"question\":\"What capstone course was introduced in fall 2019?\",\"answer\":\"A wildlife biology capstone course was offered as part of the University of Saint Joseph biology curriculum in fall 2019.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the course use learning strategies in practice?\",\"answer\":\"It fully embraced problem-based learning, project-based learning, and service-learning by having students create management plans for campus wetlands affected by invasive plants.\"},{\"question\":\"What outcomes were reported for students and the course?\",\"answer\":\"Students showed increased motivation, ownership, and skills through stakeholder project requests, and instructors observed unexpected improvements in leadership, maturity, and scientific curiosity.\"}]","Wildlife and Waders - Experiences from a Biology Capstone Course | PDF",1792080317,15]