David K. Mwaura, Jordan A. Anderson, Daniel M. Kiboi, Mercy Y. Akinyi, Jenny Tung
{"title":"Enhancing Student Comprehension of Paternity Assignment in Molecular Primatology: A Pilot Study Using a Shiny Web Application in Kenya","authors":"David K. Mwaura, Jordan A. Anderson, Daniel M. Kiboi, Mercy Y. Akinyi, Jenny Tung","doi":"10.1002/ajp.70024","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Kinship is a major determinant of affiliative and mating behavior in primates. In field studies, identifying kin typically relies in part on genetic analysis, especially for discriminating paternal relationships. Such analyses assume knowledge of Mendelian inheritance, genotyping technologies, and basic statistical inference. Consequently, they can be difficult for students to grasp, particularly through traditional lecture formats. Here, we investigate whether integrating an additional active learning approach—interaction with <i>DadApp</i>, an application built using the R package <i>Shiny</i> that implements a popular paternity inference approach in an accessible graphical user interface—improves student understanding of genetic kinship analysis in molecular primatology. We do so in the context of a nontraditional learning environment in Kenya, a developing nation in which students have limited access to technology, and where the efficacy of educational Shiny apps has never been assessed. Twenty-eight (28) participants with diverse educational backgrounds attended an introductory lecture on genetics and paternity inference, completed a pre-test, interacted with <i>DadApp</i> via a structured set of exercises and questions, and then completed a post-test and survey about their experience and subjective understanding. Post-test scores significantly improved relative to pre-test scores (<i>p</i> = 3.75 × 10<sup>−</sup><sup>6</sup>), indicating enhanced learning outcomes. Further, student interest and confidence in the subject matter significantly increased after the practical session with <i>DadApp</i>. Our results suggest that Shiny web app-based active learning approaches have potential benefits in communicating complex topics in molecular primatology, including in resource-limited settings where such methods have not yet experienced high penetrance.</p>","PeriodicalId":7662,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Primatology","volume":"87 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajp.70024","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Journal of Primatology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.70024","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ZOOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Kinship is a major determinant of affiliative and mating behavior in primates. In field studies, identifying kin typically relies in part on genetic analysis, especially for discriminating paternal relationships. Such analyses assume knowledge of Mendelian inheritance, genotyping technologies, and basic statistical inference. Consequently, they can be difficult for students to grasp, particularly through traditional lecture formats. Here, we investigate whether integrating an additional active learning approach—interaction with DadApp, an application built using the R package Shiny that implements a popular paternity inference approach in an accessible graphical user interface—improves student understanding of genetic kinship analysis in molecular primatology. We do so in the context of a nontraditional learning environment in Kenya, a developing nation in which students have limited access to technology, and where the efficacy of educational Shiny apps has never been assessed. Twenty-eight (28) participants with diverse educational backgrounds attended an introductory lecture on genetics and paternity inference, completed a pre-test, interacted with DadApp via a structured set of exercises and questions, and then completed a post-test and survey about their experience and subjective understanding. Post-test scores significantly improved relative to pre-test scores (p = 3.75 × 10−6), indicating enhanced learning outcomes. Further, student interest and confidence in the subject matter significantly increased after the practical session with DadApp. Our results suggest that Shiny web app-based active learning approaches have potential benefits in communicating complex topics in molecular primatology, including in resource-limited settings where such methods have not yet experienced high penetrance.
期刊介绍:
The objective of the American Journal of Primatology is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and findings among primatologists and to convey our increasing understanding of this order of animals to specialists and interested readers alike.
Primatology is an unusual science in that its practitioners work in a wide variety of departments and institutions, live in countries throughout the world, and carry out a vast range of research procedures. Whether we are anthropologists, psychologists, biologists, or medical researchers, whether we live in Japan, Kenya, Brazil, or the United States, whether we conduct naturalistic observations in the field or experiments in the lab, we are united in our goal of better understanding primates. Our studies of nonhuman primates are of interest to scientists in many other disciplines ranging from entomology to sociology.