Objectifs pédagogiques

The objectif of this project is to apply the scientific method to the study of insect behaviour. We will explore the following steps:

Formulating the scientific question and hypotheses. These will be the basis for the choice of material and methods. The objectif is to understand the strong link between the scientific questions and the methods.

Carrying out a literature search: The objective is to learn how to carry out a literature search in order to help finding the scientific questions, the methods already available to ask these questions, and to put the results into the context of other research already published.

Planning and carrying out an experiment: The objective is to understand the importance of project planning, of following protocol, for the success of a scientific study.

Recording the behaviour, analysing data: The objective of this part is to understand the link between the type of data and the statistical analysis. Applying knowledge of statistical tests acquired during the 1A and 2A as well as tests adapted to the specific data generated during the experiment.

Interpreting  and discussing the results, arriving at the conclusion: Understanding how to interpret the results from the experiment in a way that provides answers to the scientific questions asked in the experiment.

Communication: The objective of communicate is to transfer the knowledge gained during the experiment to the public. Writing a scientific article gives the space for detailed reports and discussions, preparing a poster and an oral presentation forces the students to focus on the most important message, to carefully choose which parts of the methods and the resutls to present and how to present them in a way that helps the public to understand the project.