Teaching
Currently: Directed Independent Study
Spring 2015: BIO 366 Ecology
BIO 462 Deep Sea Biology
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Fall 2014: BIO 366 Ecology, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Spring 2014: BIO 201 Cell Biology Lab, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Summer 2012: TA, Marine Invertebrate Zoology, Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Spring 2015: BIO 366 Ecology
BIO 462 Deep Sea Biology
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Fall 2014: BIO 366 Ecology, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Spring 2014: BIO 201 Cell Biology Lab, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Summer 2012: TA, Marine Invertebrate Zoology, Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Directed Independent Study
ECOLOGY
Fall 2014, Spring 2015
Syllabus, Fall 2014
Textbook: Elements of Ecology, 8th Ed. Smith & Smith (Amazon Link)
Ecology is a required course for the biology and marine biology majors at UNCW, and generally is a mixture of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. We cover topics such as plant & animal adaptations, population growth, competition, predation, parasitism, symbiosis, community ecology, ecosystem energetics, nutrient and carbon cycling, climate effects, and terrestrial and marine/aquatic environments. I am moving towards a more interactive/applied approach as much as possible, including the use of "clickers" (response software), group activities, and in-class problem sets. Towards the end of the class, we read papers from the primary literature. Ecology lab is a separate one-credit course.
Course Activities:
Find activities developed by Dr. Beth Darrow below. These have been used successfully in Ecology classes of 30-90 students.
Diversity
An in-classroom activity exploring diversity indices using Excel. Based loosely on definitions and species lists from Smith & Smith Elements of Ecology, 8th Ed., but the textbook is not necessary. My students needed the most help using Excel, but once they figured it out, this was very helpful - they did very well on this portion of the exam compared to the pre-test.
Included are the files I gave the students (diversityactivity.xlsx and diversity_activity.pdf), and the answer keys.
Syllabus, Fall 2014
Textbook: Elements of Ecology, 8th Ed. Smith & Smith (Amazon Link)
Ecology is a required course for the biology and marine biology majors at UNCW, and generally is a mixture of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. We cover topics such as plant & animal adaptations, population growth, competition, predation, parasitism, symbiosis, community ecology, ecosystem energetics, nutrient and carbon cycling, climate effects, and terrestrial and marine/aquatic environments. I am moving towards a more interactive/applied approach as much as possible, including the use of "clickers" (response software), group activities, and in-class problem sets. Towards the end of the class, we read papers from the primary literature. Ecology lab is a separate one-credit course.
Course Activities:
Find activities developed by Dr. Beth Darrow below. These have been used successfully in Ecology classes of 30-90 students.
Diversity
An in-classroom activity exploring diversity indices using Excel. Based loosely on definitions and species lists from Smith & Smith Elements of Ecology, 8th Ed., but the textbook is not necessary. My students needed the most help using Excel, but once they figured it out, this was very helpful - they did very well on this portion of the exam compared to the pre-test.
Included are the files I gave the students (diversityactivity.xlsx and diversity_activity.pdf), and the answer keys.
diversityactivity.xlsx | |
File Size: | 40 kb |
File Type: | xlsx |
diversity_activity.pdf | |
File Size: | 47 kb |
File Type: |
diversityactivity_excelkey.xlsx | |
File Size: | 37 kb |
File Type: | xlsx |
diversity_activity_key.docx | |
File Size: | 103 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Deep Sea Biology
Course Description: Deep Sea Biology is an introduction to our present knowledge of the biology of the deep and open ocean. BIO 462 reviews concepts of biological oceanography, focusing on adaptations and constraints of life in the extreme habitats of the deep sea. We will use a combined lecture and interactive format to explore the technology and methods used for deep-sea research, read current primary literature, and practice data analysis and communication skills. Deep Sea Biology is an upper-level elective for the B.A. Biology, B.S. Biology, and B.S. Marine Biology degrees. Prerequisite: BIO362 or instructor permission.