OCELOTS

Resource Type

• Module

Courses

• Ecology
• Plant Biology
• Science Process Skills

Course Level

• Upper Level

Bloom's Cognitive Level

• Foundational: factual knowledge & comprehension
• Application & Analysis
• Synthesis/Evaluation/Creation

Vision and Change Core Competencies

• Ability to apply the process of science
• Ability to use quantitative reasoning
• Ability to use modeling and simulation
• Ability to tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science
• Ability to communicate and collaborate with other disciplines
• Ability to understand the relationship between science and society

Vision and Change Core Concepts

• Structure and Function
• Pathways and transformations of energy and matter
• Systems

Four Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) Framework

• Core Ecological Concepts
  • Community
    • Competition – exploitation – interference – predation – mutualism
    • Stability – resistance – resilience – disturbance – steady-state – fluctuate
    • Succession
  • Ecosystems
    • Energy flow – productivity
    • Nutrient cycling – nutrients
  • Biomes
    • Biome types – tundra, boreal forest, deciduous forest, grassland, shrubland, desert, tropical rainforest
• Ecology Practices
  • Quantitative reasoning and computational thinking
    • Data analysis and interpretation
  • Designing and critiquing investigations
  • Working collaboratively
  • Communicating and applying ecology
• Human-Environment Interactions
  • Human dependence on the environment
    • Ecosystem services (Daily 1997)
  • Human accelerated environmental change – there is no pristine ecosystem nor total equilibrium
    • Anthropogenic impacts, intentional and unintentional
  • How humans shape and manage resources/ecosystems/the environment
    • Urban ecosystems, urban ecology, urban-rural gradient
    • Agricultural ecosystems – agroecology, fisheries, forestry
    • Natural resource management
    • Conservation biology
    • Ecological stewardship
  • Ethics – critical thinking about the values underlying how we approach and address environmental problems, challenges, and opportunities in environmental decision-making and policy
• Cross-cutting Themes
  • Structure & Function
  • Pathways & Transformations of Matter and energy
  • Systems

Class Type

• Lecture
• Seminar
• Discussion Section
• On-line

Class Size

• 1-50

Audience

• Life Sciences Major
• 4-year College
• University

Lesson Length

• Multiple class periods

Key Scientific Process Skills

• Reviewing prior research
• Interpreting results/data
• Communicating results

Pedagogical Approaches

• Brainstorming
• Case Study
• Collaborative Work
• Pre/Post Question

Assessment Type

• Assignment
• Answer essay question(s)
• Interpret data