Document: CHA-3-28-5

ESA sponsors a web site and CD-ROM that integrates student-active teaching with topical issues for big and small ecology courses

D'AVANZO, C.* ¹, B.GRANT ² and S.MUSANTE ³

Hampshire College, Amherst MA, U.S.A. ¹
Widener University, Chester,PA, U.S.A. ²
Ecological Society of America, Washington, DC, U.S.A. ³

Abstract:
Even though increasing numbers of college science faculty say that they are including more student-active teaching in their courses, these reforms are often limited to labs. ESA's Education Section recent survey of about 130 introductory biology courses showed that 90% still rely on traditional lectures as their primary teaching approach. We are addressing this problem with new NSF support and creating a CD-ROM and an ESA-linked website that will help ecology faculty incorporate methods such as cooperative groupwork and discussion of open-ended questions in their lectures and into labs. I will describe one aspect of this project called "Issues to Teach Ecology" that is especially targeted at professors who want to actively involve their students, but who teach large classes. "Issues" have been identified by ESA as especially topical. They concern basic ecological concepts, are based on good data accessible to undergraduates, and are open-ended and likely controversial (e.g. coral loss off Florida, introduced species). "Issues" will include 1) issue overview and links to rich information sources , 2) data for students to describe, interpret, and manipulate, 3) examples of various student-active approaches using the issue , 4) pedagogical information and links , 5) ways for faculty to interact with other ecology faculty using "Issues". We are seeking faculty to field test "Issues" and its companion "Experiment in Ecology". "Issues "or "Experiments" submitted by faculty may be used in promotion files because we have established a structure for their peer review.

Keywords: education, student-active teaching, ecological issues, lecture classes

This abstract is being presented at: 2:15 PM in session:
Oral Session #29: Communicating Ecology.