As with many other complex topics, teaching ecosystem ecology can be particularly difficult in terms of helping students understand the relationships between the various component parts. We addressed this challenge in a general ecology course by developing a lesson plan based on pathway maps. Pathway maps are very similar to concept maps but allow students to specifically address whether the links are positive or negative relationships. While the students created pathway maps collaboratively during class, they explicitly concentrated on the relationships between different concepts in ecosystem ecology. Each group of students then reviewed the pathway maps of another group to identify pathway map links that might be incorrect or poorly described. Students then investigated these flagged links of their own pathway maps by searching the primary literature for data that supported or refuted the questionable link in their pathway map. Each group then wrote a short paper presenting and interpreting the data that they found. The Pathway Mapping activity appeared to promote both big-picture thinking about ecosystem ecology and also a useful venue for students to evaluate a model (their pathway map) with data (from the primary literature). We feel that the Pathway Mapping framework is quite flexible and could be used to positive effect in a large number of courses.
Jean L Woods onto teaching
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