Department of Biology, University of Richmond, United States of America.
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Richmond, United States of America.
Math Biosci. 2022 Jul;349:108844. doi: 10.1016/j.mbs.2022.108844. Epub 2022 May 24.
Advancing technologies, including interactive tools, are changing classroom pedagogy across academia. Here, we discuss the R Markdown interface, which allows for the creation of partial or complete interactive classroom modules for courses using the R programming language. R Markdown files mix sections of R code with formatted text, including LaTeX, which are rendered together to form complete reports and documents. These features allow instructors to create classroom modules that guide students through concepts, while providing areas for coding and text response by students. Students can also learn to create their own reports for more independent assignments. After presenting the features and uses of R Markdown to enhance teaching and learning, we present examples of materials from two courses. In a Computational Modeling course for math students, we used R Markdown to guide students through exploring mathematical models to understand the principle of herd immunity. In a Data Visualization and Communication course for biology students, we used R Markdown for teaching the fundamentals of R programming and graphing, and for students to learn to create reproducible data investigations. Through these examples, we demonstrate the benefits of R Markdown as a dynamic teaching and learning tool.
先进的技术，包括交互式工具，正在改变整个学术界的课堂教学法。在这里，我们讨论了 R Markdown 界面，它允许使用 R 编程语言为课程创建部分或完整的交互式课堂模块。R Markdown 文件将 R 代码的部分与格式化文本（包括 LaTeX）混合在一起，这些文本一起呈现，形成完整的报告和文档。这些功能允许教师创建指导学生学习概念的课堂模块，同时为学生提供编码和文本响应的区域。学生也可以学习为更独立的作业创建自己的报告。在介绍了 R Markdown 增强教学和学习的功能和用途之后，我们展示了两门课程的材料示例。在面向数学专业学生的计算建模课程中，我们使用 R Markdown 引导学生探索数学模型，以了解群体免疫的原理。在面向生物学专业学生的数据可视化和交流课程中，我们使用 R Markdown 教授 R 编程和绘图的基础知识，并让学生学习创建可重复的数据调查。通过这些示例，我们展示了 R Markdown 作为一种动态教学和学习工具的好处。
