Teaching and learning sampling using computer simulation and expert systems

To enhance student comprehension of basic sampling concepts, Arvanities and Reich have developed a Forest Sampling Simulator (FOSS) for microcomputer (Arvanities and Reich, 1989). It has been well-documented by numerous studies that computer simulation fosters understanding of complex systems by permitting students to manipulate individual parts and observe the effects of their action on the rest of the model (Heerman, 1988). This system is described in Section 2 below. In section 3 its possible augmentation by an expert system is described, which would automatically generate the most appropriate sampling strategy for a particular situation, given the appropriate input information.