Bio 320- Fundamentals of Ecology
Class Meeting Tues., 8 January 2013
Announcements:
- Introductions
- Textbook
- Labs - will be posted on Canvas
Tomorrow's lab is already posted
- Reading assignments for class Thursday: -
- read
syllabus
- explore links on Canvas
- read Smith ch. 1
- Labs meet in BH 460; lab this
week (TOMORROW) will be OUTSIDE on campus: dress warmly & wear good shoes for ice/snow!
Today's objectives:
- What do you already know about
Ecology?
- Introduce the subfields of Ecology -
hierarchies
- Course structure & Syllabus
- Group work & Peer learning
- Summarize group expectations & consequences
to help establish effective group learning
- Articulate your personal learning goals for
the course
Topic 1: What do you already
know about Ecology?
- On a piece of paper, write down 3-5
things you already know about the field of ecology.
- Compare notes with your neighbor.
- Brainstorm - create a working
definition for Ecology
-
- Step 2: Take the "Ecology Self Test"
- When finished, compare your results
with a different partner
- Class comparisons & points of
disagreement...
Topic 2: Ecological
Sub-Disciplines
- Ecology, as a branch of the
field of Biology, covers a huge range of specific topics -
- different
scales and perspectives
- Organization - hierarchies
![](vocab.hierarchy.jpg)
- Each of the levels in this
hierarchy represents a different point of view & a different
emphasis
- Some are focused on
understanding patterns of distribution and abundance
- Some emphasize processes
- All operate under basic
understanding that outside factors form a set of constraints or
boundaries within which ecological interactions occur
ACTIVITY:
- Skim one of the news articles on
Ecology
- classify the topic in the article
into one of the sub-disciplines of ecology listed above
- meet with a partner & discuss/share
with class
- Answer these Questions on paper to
turn in:
- Names of partners
- Article Title
- Which sub-discipline do you think
this article is most focused on?
- List one or two clues/points made
that lead you to that conclusion
- Are other sub-fields also
represented in this article?
- What intrigued/puzzled/surprised you
most about this article?
Topic 3: Course
Structure
Topic 4: Group/Team Work
- Value of cooperative learning & team
work
- Form cooperative groups with 3-4
people in each
- Exchange names, emails, phone
numbers
- Select a recorder for today
- Discuss:
- strengths & weaknesses of each
member
- experience working in groups
- expectations for group
participation & consequences if an individual doesn't meet those
expectations
- positive contributions each
person can offer to help meet expectations
- peer instruction: does it help
you learn? how?
- Recorder:
- summarize in writing the group's
responses to above questions
- each individual agrees &
signs/dates. Recorder, turn in paper at end of class.
- Rules of Engagement:
- Brainstorm classroom rules for
effective learning & communication
Topic 5: Personal Goals
for this course
Think about 3 personal goals you wish to
accomplish in this course. By the end of the semester, what do you want to
know & be able to do regarding ecology?
Write these goals on a piece of paper to
turn in to me - I will compile them and post them on the webpage (anonymously)
See the summary of individual goals compiled by you & your classmates!