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    Using Structured Decision Making to Explore Complex Environmental Issues
    Environmental issues are inherently complex, often requiring multiple interested parties to come together before agreeing on a solution. Structured decision making is a tool used by federal and state management agencies to find solutions that...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    interdisciplinarysocio-ecological systemsscience policystakeholderstructured decision making
    Lesson
    1379

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    314

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    0

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    Using Seafood Traceability to Teach the Complexities of Natural Resource Management and Sustainability
    This lesson plan addresses the challenge of conveying to students the globalized nature and complexity of natural resource management. Specifically, it uses seafood traceability, or the ability to track seafood as it moves through the global...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    sustainabilityfisheriesaquacultureAnthropogenic ImpactsNatural Resource Management
    Essay
    2217

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    211

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    0

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    Structuring Courses for Equity
    As instructors, we continually look for new ways to create equitable learning environments and support learning for all students in our courses. Recently, we have explored ways that we can increase structure to better support students. We have...

    Courses: Anatomy-PhysiologyAnatomy-Physiology BioinformaticsBioinformatics Cell BiologyCell Biology Developmental BiologyDevelopmental Biology EcologyEcology GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology MicrobiologyMicrobiology NeurobiologyNeurobiology Plant BiologyPlant Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    Equitymetacognitioninclusivitycourse structure
    Lesson
    3171

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    1094

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    0

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    Squirreling Around for Science: Observing Sciurid Rodents to Investigate Animal Behavior
    Hands-on research experiences are important opportunities for students to learn about the nature of inquiry and gain confidence in solving problems. Here, we present an inquiry-based lesson plan that investigates the foraging behavior of sciurid...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    foragingbehaviorbehavioral ecologySciuridSquirrelSquirrel-NetTrade-offVigilance
    Lesson
    1289

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    352

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    0

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    A first lesson in mathematical modeling for biologists: Rocs
    Using a fictitious population of Rocs, a mythical species of giant raptor, students accomplish two broad objectives: 1) they undertake the process of building a first mathematical model of a population, and 2) they begin to develop their...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    population ecologypopulation modelingdiscrete generationpopulation management
    Lesson
    376

    views

    60

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    0

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    Environmental Injustice: When the Grass is Greener on the Other Side
    Environmental pollution is a global threat that is especially prevalent in heavily industrialized and urbanized areas. Pollution can be found in many forms, such as natural and synthetic pollutants from natural and anthropogenic processes. These...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills ToxicologyToxicology

    human healthenvironmental injusticeEnvironmental PollutionSystemic BiasesIdeological AwarenessUrban Ecology and Development
    Lesson
    2117

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    310

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    0

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    Debating Conservation: Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Introductory Biology Classes
    Role-playing activities in the classroom promote students’ critical thinking, research, and communication skills. We present an activity where students debate a current controversy in conservation. In our case study, students debate the...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology

    Restorationtrophic cascadeecosystem function
    Lesson
    2621

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    103

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    0

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    Exploring Indigenous Viewpoints in the Undergraduate Biology Classroom: An Environmental Case Study Incorporating Hawaiian Traditional Ecological Knowledge
    Changing science education to foster greater equity and inclusion for Indigenous students will require effort from instructors and institutions. Instructors can help by including Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in their science classrooms....

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    ecologycase studyenvironmentsystems thinkingTraditional ecological knowledgeindigenous knowledgehawai'idecolonizing scienceNative knowledgeFish ponds
    LessonPlus
    2090

    views

    174

    downloads

    0

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    The Power of Place: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Studying Urban Ecology, Local Apple Trees and Disease Susceptibility
    Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) offered early in an undergraduate student’s career have the potential to include a greater number and diversity of students than one-on-one mentored research. CUREs that use a...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    Disease ecologyurban ecologyUrban food forestsUrban heat islandsGenetic resistance
    Lesson
    3580

    views

    505

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    0

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    How Many Squirrels Are in the Shrubs? A Lesson Plan for Comparing Methods for Population Estimation
    Estimating the population sizes of animals is a key skill for any student interested in ecology, conservation, or management. However, counting animals in natural habitats is difficult, and the many techniques that exist each rely on assumptions...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Professional Development and Career PlanningProfessional Development and Career Planning Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    population ecologywildlife managementpopulation estimationsciuridaeSquirrel-Net
    Lesson
    1693

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    518

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    0

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    A Remote Introductory Biology Lab Using Backyard Birdwatching to Teach Data Analysis and Communication
    Asking questions, designing experiments, collecting data and interpreting those data, and communicating the results are some of the most important concepts an undergraduate biology lab can teach students. When the SARS-CoV2 pandemic forced our...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    ecologydata analysisdata collection
    Lesson
    1700

    views

    285

    downloads

    0

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    Using Comics to Make Science Come Alive
    Students often see science as a fragmented set of facts to be memorized, rather than concepts and processes that are relevant in their everyday lives. This is especially true for non-science majors, who represent the vast majority of all college...

    Courses: EcologyEcology GeneticsGenetics Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology NeurobiologyNeurobiology

    role of science in society
    Lesson
    6259

    views

    320

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    1

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    Marsh Madness: Using Video Games and a Case Study to Explore Food Webs and Ecosystem Services in Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve
    As the complexity and interconnectedness of our world increases, we are continually expected to be capable of complex, non-linear thinking in order to successfully tackle and solve the challenges we face in the 21st century. Tackling these...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    food webssystems thinkingGame Based LearningEcosystem Servicessocio-ecological networks
    Lesson
    2719

    views

    242

    downloads

    0

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    Integrating Community Ecology Into the Study of Parasites: Exploring the Effect of Host Behavior on Parasite Transmission Rates
    Organismal life cycles are often presented as a set of facts to memorize in undergraduate biology courses. This approach is cognitively demanding for students and fails to convey how central life cycle diversity is in shaping ecological and...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    statisticsspecies interactionsQuantitative reasoninggraphsCommunity EcologyParasitologyfood webs
    Lesson
    1484

    views

    435

    downloads

    0

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    Using Images of Foraging Leaf-Cutter Ants to Teach Linear Regression
    This lesson offers students a realistic, open-inquiry research experience, even when lab or field research is not possible. We first introduce students to leaf-cutter ants and how they forage. Then we provide images and videos of foraging...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    linear regressionexperimental designPlant-insect interactionsSymbiosisForaging behavior
    Lesson
    469

    views

    43

    downloads

    0

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    Space Mission Ecology: Making Connections Among Science Disciplines Through the Lens of a Unique Plant
    With this case study, we aim to increase awareness of essential services plants provide to society, as well as the importance of fundamental aspects of ecology for other disciplines and the interconnectedness among different fields of science in...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Plant BiologyPlant Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    ecologycollaborationplant biologyScience CommunicationBioregenerative Life SupportInterdisciplinary Connections
    Teaching Tools and Strategies
    5683

    views

    186

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    0

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    Walkabout: An Easy to Use, Experiential Learning Activity for Applying Abstract Concepts to the Real-World
    Students can have difficulty recognizing examples of course concepts in the real-world. They particularly struggle with phenomena that are ambiguously defined, have mimics, or are hard to distinguish from other phenomena. Students can better...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    data gatheringgreen technologyobservations
    Lesson
    3075

    views

    453

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    Moths and Frogs and E. coli, Oh My!: Agent-based Modeling of Evolutionary Systems
    In evolution classrooms, introducing and reinforcing the idea of genetic drift and random selection can be challenging, as can be reinforcing appropriate mental models of evolution. Agent-based models offer students the opportunity to conduct a...

    Courses: BioinformaticsBioinformatics EcologyEcology EvolutionEvolution Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    modelingEvolutionecologyagent-based modelingGenetic Driftenvironmental scienceNatural Selectioncompetitive coevolutionsimulation modelingevolutionary reasoning
    Lesson
    2262

    views

    481

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    0

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    Air Quality Data Mining: Mining the US EPA AirData website for student-led evaluation of air quality issues
    Air pollution directly affects human health endpoints including growth, respiratory processes, cardiovascular health, fertility, pregnancy outcomes, and cancer. Therefore, the distribution of air pollution is a topic that is relevant to all, and...

    Courses: EcologyEcology Introductory BiologyIntroductory Biology Science Process SkillsScience Process Skills

    data miningenvironmental justiceair qualityairpollutionspatial reasoning
    Lesson
    909

    views

    102

    downloads

    0

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    Learning the Landscape: An Active and Applied Lesson on Landscape Ecology for General Ecology Courses
    Landscape ecology is an important subtopic of ecology. As a field, it is inherently interdisciplinary and provides opportunities to teach not only content, but transferable ecological and geographical skills. Given the broad spectrum of topics in...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    landscape ecologyspatial scaleecosystem managementHabitat fragmentation