4DEE Extravaganza Presentations
This two-day showcase featured many innovative ideas to increase your impact on student learning and eco-literacy aligned with ESA’s Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) Framework!
Meet the scholars presenting who also participated in the Transforming Ecology Education to 4D Faculty Mentoring Networks (FMN) here!
Video recordings of Keynote Speakers are now available on ESAVideos!
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April 24, 2024 Keynote |
April 30, 2024 Keynote |
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Keynote and Presentations
April 24, 2024
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time
Welcome by Program Chair, Dr. Jennifer Doherty, Michigan State University
Keynote Speaker: Jenny Dauer, University of Nebraska -Lincoln
Using 4DEE to support students’ decision-making about ecology issues
Our ecology students need to not only understand ecological concepts, but also be prepared to apply evidence to complex societal decision-making and to consider tradeoffs in decisions that impact human-environment interactions. In this presentation, Dauer will present how policy-level structured decision-making about a complex ecological issue can offer the opportunity for students to apply concepts, ecology practices and cross-cutting themes to understand how humans and the environment are intertwined.
Breakout Sessions
Program subject to change
Breakout 1
1a) Erin McKenney
North Carolina State University
Integrating 4DEE into curriculum mapping
The 4DEE framework provides a valuable tool for curriculum mapping. We used 4DEE mapping to verify coverage and gaps in ecological training for a new proposed undergraduate major in Applied Ecology. 4DEE mapping informs student elective selection and program assessment.
1b) Jenise Snyder
Ursuline College
An interwoven ecology field lab sequence for biology majors
A laboratory sequence of 4 interconnected field labs for biology majors spanning weather/climate, soil, decomposition, and biodiversity will be described. The sequence is progressive, utilizing data collected for each topic and increasingly complex statistical methods. The 4DEE framework will be provided for each topic.
Breakout 2
2a) Lauren Stoczynski
Purdue University
This teaching resource covers all four dimensions of the ecology education framework. I’ll talk about ways to implement this resource online or in person and welcome discussion especially on the incorporation of graph interpretation within ecology lectures and labs.
2b) Justin R. St Juliana
Cornell University
Using Active Learning to Bring 4DEE into Lectures
I will discuss a lecture structure that uses active learning to incorporate ecological practices and human environment interactions into lectures.
Breakout 3
3a) Natasha Woods
Moravian University
The 4DEE framework was used to create a data-centered teaching module using tree census data from two pre and post disturbance communities, allowing students to compare successional trajectories after a decade of recovery.
3b) 4DEE Leadership Meet and Greet
Have some feedback on 4DEE to share? Want to know what is on the horizon? Join this informal chat with Chris Beck, Emory University, 4DEE Subcommittee chair; Teresa Mourad, ESA Director of Education and Diversity Programs to learn more and explore how you can be involved!
April 30, 2024
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Eastern Time
Welcome by Program Chair, Dr. Jennifer Doherty, Michigan State University
Keynote Speaker: Shahnaz Masani, Ph.D. Michigan State University
Bridging Histories and Habitats: Building students’ understanding of the historical contexts of inequities in human health and ecosystems through a course-based undergraduate research experience
How we can support our students in envisioning ecology as a path to social justice? Our keynote speaker presents a case study used in an introductory organismal biology lab course, where students learn core ecological concepts and practices, conduct ecological investigations, and trace the historical origins of inequities in human health and ecosystems within their local communities. Through this case study, students explore databases and articles, build an ‘inequities map’ that traces the impacts of policies like red-lining and urban renewal on canopy cover, heat islands, and racial disparities in asthma. In addition, they learn about community-led efforts that bring together community members, researchers, and policymakers to challenge these inequities and build a more just world.
Breakout Sessions
Program subject to change
Breakout 1
1a) Sara Hansen
Central Michigan University
Co-authors: Anna Monfils, Central Michigan University, Deb Linton, Central Michigan University
Building Biodiversity Datasets for Invasive Species
Our module guides students through the process of mapping biodiversity data and building a biodiversity dataset to study the spread and impacts of the invasive aquatic plant species, European frog-bit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae L.).
1b) Linda Auker
Misericordia University
Introducing students to Lotka-Volterra modeling in R
Learning to use R and modelling can be particularly challenging for undergraduate ecology students. Here, I will give an overview of a figure set and activity that will introduce students to Lotka-Volterra predator-prey models and R Notebooks.
Breakout 2
2a) Shamili Ajgaonkar1, Lynne Beaty2, and Miranda Kearney3
1College of DuPage, 2Penn State Behrend, 3SUNY Oneonta
4DEE: Incorporating 4DEE into deer-based figure set
Through a collaborative TEE FMN experience, we leveraged the 4DEE framework to enrich a TIEE figure set on human-deer conflicts. We will share our revised figure set and insights from our FMN experience, illustrating our integrative approach.
2b) Jithin Vijayan
Nature Conservation Foundation, India
4DEE’s role in improving an online module for teaching tropical ecology and conservation
In light of a recently developed online module based on land-use change in the Western Ghats, I discuss how important is 4DEE’s role in showcasing a tropical conservation issue, when it is deeply intertwined with the people and culture.
Breakout 3
3a) Emily Rauschert
Cleveland State University
Community interactions of army ants
As part of a 4DEE FMN, I adapted a figure set about community interactions of army ants to be 4DEE aligned. I added an example involving interaction between different types of ant-following birds to allow further opportunities to interpret results.
3b) Rosny Jean
Florida A&M University
Using RGB high-resolution color imagery for object-based image classification and assessing urban canopy cover
Urban trees provide a variety of benefits for a city including decreased energy expenditure, removal of pollutants, and increased property values. This figure set provides students with visual insights to interpret and understand geographical variations in distribution patterns of urban trees.