Transmission genetics labs are valuable for undergraduate development of analytical thinking skills. However, these labs typically present the scientific process as artificially linear, with a single "right answer." This resource describes an inquiry-based approach to teaching a transmission genetics lab focused on plant cotyledon color. Student groups are required to develop a hypothesis based...
In two 4-6 week modules (case studies) students explore the influences of urban practices on the ecosystem health of the Chesapeake Bay. A field trip to the Anacostia River helps introduce the case study. In a jigsaw design, students first act as expert groups or stakeholders and then are assigned into different mixed groups. During each step of the process, students utilize social and natural...
Students use their ecological knowledge of soil processes, energy, water systems, and human interactions to compare the environmental impact of food production. Each group of 3-4 students develop life cycle analyses (LCA) for a single crop grown under different scenarios. As individuals, students are responsible for developing two LCA for that crop, and then together in their groups, they compile...
The short film Tree Tender (2016) follows a young woman, Gaia, becoming the newest Tree Tender, learning about the Tree of Life, the connections between all organisms on the Tree, the importance of understanding these connections, and the human-caused mass extinction currently occurring.
Note: Please read 01 Tree Tender Curriculum Bundle.pdf first.
Each of these major concepts are...
Use maps, online databases, and peer-reviewed literature to:
(1) learn background information on
WNV (history of emergence in the US; life cycle, hosts, and vectors; different forms of WNV
disease and susceptibility of various human age groups) and
(2) generate and test hypotheses
correlating human, avian, and mosquito WNV infection with avian biodiversity,
presence/abundance of different...