Symposium: Exemplary Practices in Herpetological Education IIRoom: Ballroom 111A2022-07-31 10:00 - 11:45 |
| Moderator: Theodora Pinou |
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1. 10:00 Using Long-term Herpetological Data Sets in the Undergraduate, Graduate, and Public Education Classroom. Fredric Janzen*, Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University janzenf1@msu.edu
Amphibians and reptiles can be viewed as “gateway” organisms: many people intrinsically fall in love with them. This attraction and fascination then provides herpetologists with a ready entree for pursuing and implementing educational activities in biology more broadly. But how exactly can we most effectively harness this passion in our audiences to succeed in such endeavors? A number of options exist, fortunately, and here I will focus on opportunities afforded by leveraging long-term herpetological datasets to educate a diverse range of audiences. Specifically, I will relate how these datasets can (1) enrich short-term student-led research projects, (2) substantiate (or otherwise motivate) required field activities, and (3) clarify major conceptual topics in biology. By illustrating these topics with examples, I hope to encourage herpetologists to find their own ways of successfully incorporating long-term datasets to enhance their educational activities. |
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2. 10:15 Building a Better Herpetology Course that (Hopefully) Works for Everyone. H. Bradley Shaffer*, UCLA brad.shaffer@ucla.edu
Course administration may be perceived as a boring detail, but it sets the stage for overarching course goals, student accessibility, and our ability to achieve multiple objectives for a diverse set of participants. Herpetology courses are often viewed as boutique, niche classes—they are small-enrollment, expensive, and aimed at students who are already committed to studying biodiversity. As such, the vast majority of undergraduate life sciences majors never consider taxon-oriented classes. To deal with this problem, we restructured our herpetology course into three semi-independent offerings, each targeting a different subset of students. We offer herpetology lecture, lab, and field as three separate, simultaneously-offered classes, so that students can take just the lecture, lecture plus lab, or all three, depending on their needs and interests. This organization accommodates a full range of interests and commitments, from those with a casual interest who want/need a four-unit lecture course, to those who are seriously considering graduate school and can commit half of their quarter’s units to herpetology. We also offer a completely separate “Field Biology Quarter” for 15 students that comprises their complete course load for an 11-week quarter, includes 4-5 weeks in the field, and is a total immersion undergraduate research experience. This approach presents certain challenges—for example, structuring the lecture course so that those taking the lab do not have an upper hand on exams. But it also opens up the class, with upwards of 100 enrolled students, often from diverse, underrepresented groups. |
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3. 10:30 Using Scientific Specimens and Their Digital Surrogates in Teaching Herpetology. David Blackburn*, University of Florida; Edward Stanley, University of Florida; Jaimi Gray, University of Florida; Jenna Crowe-Riddell, La Trobe University; Rachel Keeffe, University of Florida; Ramon Nagesan, University of Michigan; Daniel Paluh, University of Florida; Zachary Randall, University of Florida; Gary Sansone, University of Florida; Natasha Stepanova, University of Michigan; Taylor West, University of Michigan; Alison Davis Rabosky, University of Michigan david.c.blackburn@gmail.com
Natural history collections provide hands-on opportunities for students to learn about amphibian and reptile diversity. Traditionally, scientific specimens have been used to learn basic anatomy and distinguishing traits of species and lineages. But these specimens also provide students with the chance to investigate topics such as the relationship between form and function and convergent evolution. The diversity of preparation types of specimens as well as their associated scientific data enable conversations about field sampling, wet lab methods (e.g., skeletonization, clearing-and-staining), ethical field science, the importance of scientific collections, and the broad vision of “extended specimens.” In addition to discussing ideas for using preserved specimens in the classroom and student-led projects, we will emphasize how 3D-imaging of amphibian and reptile specimens has created new opportunities to supplement hands-on lab activities and to create on-learning resources. We will briefly discuss how these 3D data are created and highlight a variety of on-line 3D resources that can be used either alongside preserved specimens or on their own. Our examples of learning activities include manipulating 3D-printed materials and digital models (on-line or even with virtual reality headsets) that allow students to go deeper into particular concepts as well as to enhance species-specific content with quick comparisons across herpetological diversity. We will also highlight ways in which we have collaborated directly with K12 educators to create customized content for their classrooms. |
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4. 10:45 Authentic Research Experience: Integrating Real Data and Student-led Experimental Design in Herpetology Courses. Alison Davis Rabosky*, University of Michigan; Joanna Larson, University of Notre Dame; Hayley Crowell, University of Michigan; Lisa Walsh, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center ardr@umich.edu
Authentic research experiences (AREs) are a powerful strategy for inspiring and retaining students in STEM fields. However, recent demand for virtual learning has emphasized the need for remote AREs that also foster a sense of community and interpersonal connections among participants. Here, we describe two ARE activities that leverage “research active” data deriving from natural history collections to provide collaborative, student-driven scientific inquiry across any instructional modality. First, using magnified photographs of frog stomach contents collected in the Peruvian Amazon, we designed an open-source “bowl game” competition that challenges students to identify, measure, and compare diet items across vouchered frog specimens (“Batrachian Barf Bowl”). To demonstrate learning outcomes, we ran this activity with 39 herpetology class students from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Michigan and found success in both research and social well-being metrics. Second, we piloted an activity to recreate real field sampling histories across global herpetological surveys to test hypotheses about community assembly and sampling bias, with a new extension for digital accessibility. Overall, these activities offer a model for combining game-based learning with museum collections to provide experiential research opportunities highlighting the power of scientific collaboration. |
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5. 11:00 Going Live: The Benefits and Challenges of Incorporating Live Animals in Herpetology Courses. Robert E. Espinoza*, California State University, Northridge robert.e.espinoza@csun.edu
Herpetology is typically offered as an upper division lecture course that often includes laboratory and, albeit less commonly, field components. At institutions where laboratory sections are offered, exposure to the diversity and biology of amphibians and reptiles is traditionally centered on the study of preserved specimens. While there is value in learning about herps this way, pedagogical research shows that exposing students to live animals offers engagement and learning benefits not achieved in more traditional teaching environments. Despite these advantages, using live animals in Herpetology courses can create staffing, logistical, and financial burdens, and bears other sociological and ethical ramifications. I review these benefits and challenges based on 25 years of teaching Herpetology, primarily at California State University, Northridge. I will describe several lesson plans and share resources for integrating observational activities and literature-based research involving readily available live amphibians and reptiles into the laboratory and field components of Herpetology courses. |
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6. 11:15 Self - Directed Learning in the Herpetology Classroom. Theodora Pinou*, Western Connecticut State University pinout@wcsu.edu
Most faculty modified college courses to accommodate a virtual learning platform required during the social isolation period of COVID19. One instructional method used is self – directed learning (Dewey, 1938), and courses adopting this pedagogical model embrace a student - centered classroom venue. In this pedagogical construct the instructor’s role is to facilitate learning by guiding students to discover information rather than traditional lecture. It requires that the instructor is flexible and supportive of building knowledge from student’s experiences and perspectives. My presentation will provide student outcomes that result from adopting a self-directed instructional model in my herpetology course during COVID19. I will illustrate how best practices in self-directed learning result in a deeper understanding of herpetological knowledge and greater broader impact compared to traditional instructional models, and suggest that self-directed learning be integrated regularly in the herpetology (and other) classroom(s). |
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7. 11:30 Organize into workshop groups.
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