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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.13344 |
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| _version_ | 1866908965099536384 |
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| author | Masel, Joanna Dornhaus, Anna |
| author_facet | Masel, Joanna Dornhaus, Anna |
| contents | Theory and empirical science should be in constant dialogue, but often find it hard to understand one another. Here we describe a graduate-level university course we developed to improve matters. The course was designed to help empirically-focused biology graduate students read and understand theory papers, despite little prior mathematical training. It uses several evidence-based principles of modern teaching: backwards design, active learning, and just-in-time teaching. We believe that this or similar curricular content, emphasizing the nature of evidence and the role of theory in science, will improve critical thinking and scientific progress. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_13344 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | What good is modeling? Introducing biology students to theory Masel, Joanna Dornhaus, Anna Physics Education Populations and Evolution Theory and empirical science should be in constant dialogue, but often find it hard to understand one another. Here we describe a graduate-level university course we developed to improve matters. The course was designed to help empirically-focused biology graduate students read and understand theory papers, despite little prior mathematical training. It uses several evidence-based principles of modern teaching: backwards design, active learning, and just-in-time teaching. We believe that this or similar curricular content, emphasizing the nature of evidence and the role of theory in science, will improve critical thinking and scientific progress. |
| title | What good is modeling? Introducing biology students to theory |
| topic | Physics Education Populations and Evolution |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.13344 |