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    An Interrupted Case Study on Urban Prairie Restoration
    Engaging students in meaningful discussions can be a challenging task for science instructors, especially in introductory courses. The story-telling approach used in case studies can increase student participation by demonstrating the relevance of...
    Lesson
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    Out of Your Seat and on Your Feet! An adaptable course-based research project in plant ecology for advanced students
    University capstone projects can offer science students a rich research experience that illustrates the process of doing scientific research, and can also help students better choose future academic and career pathways. While capstone projects are...
    Lesson
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    Bacteria to Brains in Backyard Coyotes: An Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Case Study
    Our interdisciplinary pedagogical case study explores the differences between rural and urban coyotes at the levels of organismal and community ecology. The focus is on how coyotes’ gut microbiomes could affect their behavior via...
    LessonPlus
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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

    Lesson
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    42

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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...
    Lesson
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    Exploring Species Interactions with "Snapshot Serengeti"
    Authentic learning experiences are a valuable way for students to gain an in-depth understanding of the scientific process. However, implementing such experiences in large enrollment courses can be challenging. Here, we present a community ecology...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    Lesson
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    444

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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

    Lesson
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    392

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    Data, Distributions, and Hypotheses: Exploring Diversity and Disturbance in the Tallgrass Prairie
    Proper hypothesis generation, data handling, graphing, and communication are essential skills that undergraduate majors in biology are expected to master. However, students rarely get hands-on practice that helps them to effectively develop these...
    Lesson
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    316

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    Authentic Ecological Inquiries Using BearCam Archives
    Learning through authentic scientific inquiries is essential for understanding the nature and process of science and for developing critical thinking and communication skills. It is logistically challenging, however, to offer experiences of...
    Lesson
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    490

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    Using Student Perceptions and Cooperative Learning to Unpack Primary Literature on Global Change
    This case describes a three-part assignment in which students discuss key processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system and our increased risk of generating large-scale abrupt or irreversible environmental changes. Here,...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    Lesson
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    505

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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...
    Lesson
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    130

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    Snail Races: An Inquiry-Based Approach to Learn Invasive Species Ecology
    Inquiry-based lessons allow learning that is hands-on and student-driven, fostering engagement and retention of knowledge in any discipline. Here, we use this learning framework to engage students in exploring the effects of biotic and abiotic...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    Lesson
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    466

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    Ain't No Mountain Pine Enough: A Case Study of How Mountain Pine Beetles are Affecting Ecosystem Processes
    This case study engages students in generating hypotheses and predictions, analyzing and interpreting data, critically evaluating contrasting results in science, and thinking about feedbacks between biota and abiotic ecosystem dynamics. To address...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    Lesson
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    759

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    Animal Behaviour Case Study Lessons in Communication, Migration, and Parental Care Using the Jigsaw Approach
    Animal behaviour courses integrate concepts across biological disciplines and are particularly well suited for collaborative, student-focused teaching strategies. Case Studies can positively impact students by...
    Lesson
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    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...
    Lesson
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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...
    Lesson
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    Assessing Urban Biodiversity With the eBird Citizen Science Project: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Module
    The eBird citizen science module takes advantage of technology tools and online resources developed by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (http://ebird.org) to achieve several learning objectives embedded in a semester-long upper-level biology...
    Essay
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    233

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    Designing an Asynchronous, Self-Led Aquatic Ecology Field Trip
    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing need to teach students online, aquatic scientists are looking for ways to give students field experiences virtually. Asynchronous, self-led field trips are emerging as a solution. However, due to the...

    Courses: EcologyEcology

    Lesson
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    636

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    Biodiversity Show and Tell: An Accessible Activity to Encourage Students to Explore the Tree of Life
    An appreciation of organismal diversity is a requirement for understanding evolution and ecology, and can serve as a source of amazement and wonder that inspires students to enjoy biology. However, biodiversity can be a challenging subject to...
    Lesson
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    Dynamic Daphnia: An inquiry-based research experience in ecology that teaches the scientific process to first-year biologists
    This authentic research experience lesson teaches the core concept of systems and the competencies of quantitative reasoning, communication, and the ability to apply science. The research is student driven, the results are unknown, and the...