The following resources will be presented during the REEFS Session at the 2023 ESA Annual Meeting.

Time: 10:00AM – 11:30AM PDT

Location: D136

Learning Activities

Tuesday, August 8th

10:10-10:40 AM ET (Round 1 Presenters)

Acquiring Critical Thinking & Quantitative Skills through a Collaborative Research Proposal
Exploring our Relationship with Nature
Effects of Woody Encroachment on Native Bird Diversity
What Happened to Those Undies?
Promoting Biodiversity Data Literacy: Building Biodiversity Datasets for Invasive Species
Thatch Removal Lab Using an On-Campus Restoration Project

10:40-11:10 AM ET (Round 2 Presenters)

Seeing the Sustainability of Our City
Evaluating Local Adaptation of a Native Plant with a Simple Stage-Structured Population Model
Impact of Geographic Position on Biodiversity in Mid-Atlantic Forest Communities
Field Journal: Independent Field Observations and Reflections on Nature
Human Sensory Ecology – Field Activity
Introducing Exploratory Data Analysis to Promote Data Literacy Skills

Return to the REEFS main page

Descriptions (Round 1)

Table 1: Acquiring Critical Thinking & Quantitative Skills through a Collaborative Research Proposal

Author: Laura Gonzalez, University of Texas at Austin

Abstract: In this highly experiential learning activity, students acquire a deeper understanding of ecological content while honing important skills for their professional development. Students are guided through a series of scaffolded assignments allowing them to first develop and critically analyze a question. Students then develop a written proposal draft and effectively present their proposal to an audience. Throughout all stages of the educational activity, students receive targeted feedback by instructors. Students hone and develop their critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, communication and collaborative skills while acquiring a deeper understanding of ecological concepts. This educational activity has been successfully implemented in small and large classrooms settings and while in-person or online delivery.

Extent this learning activity is developed: Highly developed, implemented multiple times in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Table 2: Exploring Our Relationship with Nature

Author: Marney Pratt, Smith College

Audience level: Introductory Biology for majors, Introductory Biology for non-majors, Introductory Biology for mixed majors, Introductory Ecology for non-majors, Introductory Ecology for majors, Introductory Environmental Science for majors, Introductory Environmental Science for non-majors, or mixed

Abstract: This series of activities begins with using the Nature Connection Index (from Richardson et al 2019, https://doi.org/10.3390/su11123250) incorporated into a course survey as a spring board for a conversation about how humans interact with nature. We also discuss benefits to spending time observing nature, barriers to accessing nature, and how to improve access and a sense of belonging for more people. Students do several observations of nature on their own time and record their observations in a journal and through various citizen science projects (iNaturalist, eBird, Natures Notebook, etc). Their final assessment is to make something creative (writing, drawing, video, or anything they can think of) to express their relationship with nature and present what they made to the class.

Extent this learning activity is developed: Highly developed, implemented multiple times in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Table 3: Effects of Woody Encroachment on Native Bird Diversity

Author: Jason Martina, Texas State University

Audience level: Introductory Ecology for majors, Introductory Environmental Science for majors, Advanced Ecology course

Abstract: This module explains the importance of rangeland management options to combat woody encroachment and demonstrates what happens if woody encroachment is not controlled. I created a module that allows students to use Christmas Bird Count data from the Freeman Center in San Marcos, Texas, and the easy-to-use RAP (Rangeland Analysis Platform) to ask unique questions about the consequences of woody encroachment on the avian populations. Students go from hypothesis testing to data collection and analysis to management recommendations. Can be done remotely or face-to-face. Good for undergrad biology major courses.

Extent this learning activity is developed: Highly developed, implemented multiple times in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Table 4: What Happened to Those Undies?

Author: Debra Wohl, Elizabethtown College

Audience level: Introductory Ecology for non-majors, Introductory Ecology for majors, Other science course

Abstract: This educational exercise, focused on decomposition, engages students in ecosystems-level thinking, focusing on trophic interactions, energy flow, and nutrient cycling. Designed as a spin-off of the Soil Yourundies campaign to test soil health, this exercise has students bury undies, which they dig up 60 days later. Before burying the undies, students engage in discussion of decomposition including biodiversity, transformation of matter, and habitats. Students also engage in quantitative reasoning and experimental design, working collaboratively, to set-up experiments that examine environmental variables (e.g., soil saturation, nutrient availability, temperature) or materials (e.g., cotton, synthetic blends, polyester materials) on rate of decomposition. This project is flexible depending on audience and learning objectives as it straddles several classes to incorporate discussion and learning related to ecosystems, biodiversity (emphasis on microbial diversity), experimental design, and human-environment interactions. The activity is inclusive of remote, hybrid, and in-person learners, as students examine rates of decomposition anywhere.

Extent this learning activity is developed: Newly developed, implemented once or twice in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Table 5: Promoting Biodiversity Data Literacy: Building Biodiversity Datasets for Invasive Species

Author: Luanna Prevost, University of South Florida

Abstract: The activity was developed by members of the Biodiversity Literacy in Undergraduate Education (BLUE) research coordination network, and provides an example of how to incorporate natural history and open access datasets into ecology education. The module engages students in mapping biodiversity data to investigate the spread of an invasive plant species, European frog-bit. The module introduces the concept of invasion and data monitoring, and guides students through using publicly available biodiversity data to map and analyze the spread of the invasive species. Students investigate the impact of the invasive European frog-bit on local plant communities and are invited to build their own datasets from field data using a sampling protocol.

Extent this learning activity is developed: Highly developed, implemented multiple times in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Table 6: Thatch Removal Lab Using an On-Campus Restoration Project

Author: Annika Rose-Person, University of California, Riverside

Audience level: Advanced Ecology course

Abstract: In this lab, we use the results of a restoration experiment at the University of California, Riverside to explore concepts of restoration, invasive species, and community assembly. In the ongoing focal experiment, Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity, and Sustainability students monitor the effect of removing invasive grass thatch on native plant diversity. In the lab, students first learn about community assembly and invasive species, with a focus on the impacts of invasive annual grasses on native plants. Students then collect plant community composition data with and without thatch removal. If performed remotely, this step could be skipped and students could use a dataset roughly reflecting data from the site. Finally, students return to the lab and analyze the data they collected in the coding language R. We discuss the impact of thatch removal on native plant diversity and abundance and its relation to drivers of community assembly.

Extent this learning activity is developed: Newly developed, implemented once or twice in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Descriptions (Round 2)

Table 1: Seeing the Sustainability of Our City

Author: Christopher Jensen, Pratt Institute

Audience level: Introductory Environmental Science for non-majors, or mixed

Abstract: In this activity students are sent out into their local urban environment on a photographic scavenger hunt. Asked to look for evidence of both sustainable and unsustainable human practices, students are challenged to explain the impacts (both positive and negative) of each documented practice on ecological systems. When conducted on a learning management system forum, this activity allows students to share what they have seen (and their analysis of that find) with their classmates. Sharing allows students to collaboratively build understanding of how human activities in an urban environment make our societies more or less sustainable. The activity can also be tied to mapping of find allowing students to think about the geographical distribution of different human activities. Asking students to categorize their finds using a sustainable infrastructure framework and/or the UN Sustainable Development Goals allows students to better conceptualize the challenges and opportunities inherent in different human practices.

Extent this learning activity is developed: Highly developed, implemented multiple times in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Table 2: Evaluating Local Adaptation of a Native Plant with a Simple Stage-Structured Population Model

Author: Jes Coyle, Saint Mary’s College of California

Audience level: Introductory Ecology for majors

Abstract: This is a short (20 – 60 min) flexible activity in which students apply what they have learned about stage-structured population models to a case study of local adaptation in two subspecies of an annual herb native to California. Students use survivorship and fecundity data from a reciprocal transplant experiment to construct the model, predict population growth and determine whether each subspecies is adapted to its local environment. I will present several versions of this activity including some taught online and in-person, as well as with life table interpretation instead of stage-structured population models. We will likely discuss strategies to include learners with diverse backgrounds in mathematics and incorporate multiple modes of learning.

Extent this learning activity is developed: Highly developed, implemented multiple times in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Table 3: Impact of Geographic Position on Biodiversity in Mid-Atlantic Forest Communities

Author: Natasha Woods, Moravian University

Audience level: Introductory Biology for mixed majors, Introductory Ecology for non-majors, Introductory Ecology for majors, Environmental Science

Abstract: Coastal ecosystems are at the forefront of the impacts of climate change (i.e., sea level rise, increase in storm frequency and intensity). Species vary in response to disturbances such as sea-level rise and storm events. This lab module was designed to teach students how succession can be disrupted by disturbance and recovery timelines can differ on the coastal mainland versus barrier islands. The extent to which a community is disturbed may depend on its geographic location. The data sets students will be provided show species diversity, size, and dominance of trees in a forested community on the mainland (Savage Neck Nature Preserve, Virginia) and on a barrier island (Parramore Island, Virginia) at two timepoints during which several major storms occurred. During this module students will analyze pre and post disturbance data, make and interpret graphs.

Students will increase reevant analytical skills used in forestry today.

Extent this learning activity is developed: In development, has not been implemented in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Table 4: Field Journal: Independent Field Observations and Reflections on Nature

Author: Susan Ask, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Abstract: The Field Journal project involves a series of independent field observations and writing assignments. Students conduct one short field observation per week, at sites of their choosing (urban, rural or wild), guided by prompts that focus the students attention on natural history. After the field observation, students write a journal entry that includes a scientific record of what they observed; students then reflect on their observations, connecting to classroom learning, to issues related to the site or to their personal experiences. Because the observations are conducted independently, the exercise is flexible to accommodate student schedules and responsibilities, making this useful for non-traditional students. It also allows instructors to overcome barriers to in-class fieldwork (e.g., remote learning, short class duration, limited site accessibility). The prompts can be customized to relate to readings and skills developed in class. Students gain ecological skills for observing nature while linking real-world experience with abstract ideas.

Extent this learning activity is developed: Highly developed, implemented multiple times in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

Table 5: Human Sensory Ecology – Field Activity

Author: Eric Keeling, SUNY New Paltz

Audience level: Introductory Ecology for non-majors, Introductory Ecology for majors, Advanced Ecology course

Abstract: In modern industrial society, our basic dependence on food, energy and materials is largely disassociated from our immediate environments. This is even more the case for outdoor recreational experiences. Can the study of human-environment interactions include non-material ecological connections?

In this 45-60 minute contemplative field activity, students use a human sensory ecology framework to collect quantifiable data in their chosen outdoor environment. The activity works anywhere and engages students of all backgrounds. It is designed as a self-administered field experience, useful for remote or non-lab courses, but also diversifies field activities in courses emphasizing traditional data-collection in a group setting. In the activity, students are challenged to observe their surroundings as biological ecologists, but also to investigate their multi-sensory experience as a potential source of personal well-being and meaning. The associated writing assignments also allow students to think critically about their connections to nature in a world increasingly dominated by technology and social interactions. This can facilitate deeper discussion relevant for today’s students about the value of non-material human-environment relationships as part of a broader conception of human ecology.

Back to the top of the page

Table 6: Introducing Exploratory Data Analysis to Promote Data Literacy Skills

Author: Sam Donovan, BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium

Extent this learning activity is developed: Highly developed, implemented multiple times in a classroom, lecture or laboratory

Back to the top of the page

REEFS 2023

Learning Activities

Tuesday, August 8th

Descriptions (Round 1)

Table 1: Acquiring Critical Thinking & Quantitative Skills through a Collaborative Research Proposal

Table 2: Exploring Our Relationship with Nature

Table 3: Effects of Woody Encroachment on Native Bird Diversity

Table 4: What Happened to Those Undies?

Table 5: Promoting Biodiversity Data Literacy: Building Biodiversity Datasets for Invasive Species

Table 6: Thatch Removal Lab Using an On-Campus Restoration Project

Descriptions (Round 2)

Table 1: Seeing the Sustainability of Our City

Table 2: Evaluating Local Adaptation of a Native Plant with a Simple Stage-Structured Population Model

Table 3: Impact of Geographic Position on Biodiversity in Mid-Atlantic Forest Communities

Table 4: Field Journal: Independent Field Observations and Reflections on Nature

Table 5: Human Sensory Ecology – Field Activity

Table 6: Introducing Exploratory Data Analysis to Promote Data Literacy Skills

Cookie consent and privacy disclaimer