Slides from the presentation "Making the most of university campuses for teaching ecology" presented by Karen Bacon, University of Leeds, at the 2016 Horizons in STEM conference held in the University of Leicester.
Making the most of university campuses for teaching ecology
1. Making the most of university
campuses for teaching ecology
Karen L. Bacon
&
Julie Peacock
2. Outline
Teaching
ecology
Why
use
a
university
campus?
Example
1:
Urban
ecology
Example
2:
Plant
evolu?on
&
palaeobotany
Conclusions
and
future
work
3. Teaching
ecology
Teaching
ecology
–
a
mixture
of
trying
to
enthuse
students
about
understanding
some
core
concepts
(e.g.
niche,
ecosystem,
biome,
biogeography,
evolu?on)
and
how
these
concepts
relate
to
working
in
the
lab
and
field.
Fieldwork
is
a
cornerstone
in
understanding
and
enjoying
ecology.
4. Why
use
the
university
campus?
The
campus
environment
is
intrinsically
familiar
to
most
students
and
so
may
help
to
reduce
“novelty
space”
when
teaching
ecological
concepts
new
to
students.
Fieldwork
is
generally
considered
a
posi?ve
experience
by
students
–
it’s
nice
to
get
out
of
the
lecture
hall
–
and
it
is
extremely
important
in
the
teaching
of
ecology
(and
many
other
subjects).
Allow
students
to
quickly
link
theory
and
prac?ce.
Provide
short
“fieldwork”
exercises
–
you
can
do
a
lot
in
an
hour
Although
exo?c
fieldwork
is
oSen
used
as
a
“selling
point”
for
undergraduate
degrees,
the
campus
offers
a
range
of
op?ons
that
can
help
to
prepare
students
for
trips
abroad
and
longer
residen?al
trips.
It’s
free
–
no
expensive
travel
required.
5. Why
use
the
university
campus?
Two
examples
of
using
the
campus
to
teach
ecology
• Urban
ecology
field
exercise
as
a
means
of
linking
some
core
concepts
for
level
1
(first
year)
geography
students
• Plant
evolu?on
and
palaeobotany
walks
based
on
campus
plants.
Photo
taken
from
the
UofL
website
6. Urban
ecology
Why
use
urban
ecology
as
an
example?
An
increasingly
important
area
of
ecological
research
–
the
term
has
been
used
since
the
1940s
(or
earlier)
but
only
became
common
in
the
1970s
and
1980s
and
research
in
this
area
has
increased
rapidly
since.
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
1940-‐49
1950-‐59
1960-‐69
1970-‐79
1980-‐89
1990-‐99
2000-‐09
2010-‐16
Web
of
Science:
use
of
“urban
ecology”
in
?tle
or
abstract
of
science
by
decade
Since
2007
over
50%
of
people
live
in
urban
environments.
Many
university
campuses
(including
the
UofL)
are
located
in
or
near
urban
centres.
7. Urban
ecology
Why
use
urban
ecology
as
an
example?
Urban
ecology
can
be
used
to
?e
many
core
concepts
of
ecology
together.
Ecosystem
services
Urban
Ecology
Niches
Biodiversity
Ecosystems
Biome
Human
influence
on
the
environment
Posi?ve
Nega?ve
9. University
of
Leeds
The
UofL
is
a
very
urbanised
campus,
located
within
the
north
of
Leeds
city.
University
of
Leeds
Biodiversity
Ac?on
Plan
10. Urban
ecology
Level
1
students
on
the
module
Living
Planet
did
a
one-‐hour
urban
ecology
field
exercise
on
the
UofL
campus.
Students
were
provided
with
some
reading
prior
to
the
exercise
on
the
module
VLE
(some
slides
and
references)
but
did
not
have
an
“urban
ecology”
lecture
beforehand.
Students
were
asked
to
put
themselves
into
groups
of
4
–
6
and
provided
with
a
campus
map
and
a
handout
that
asked
them
to
address
the
following
during
a
40
minute
self-‐guided
walk
around
the
campus:
1)
Describe
the
ecology
of
the
campus
2)
What
evidence
for
human
influence
do
you
observe?
3)
What
makes
this
an
urban
rather
than
a
rural
or
natural
environment?
4)
What
ecosystems
are
present?
5)
What
niches
are
present?
6)
Are
there
any
ecosystems
or
niches
that
are
novel
to
this
environment?
7)
What
biome
is
the
campus
in?
11. Urban
ecology
Some
of
the
key
urban
niches
and
ecosystems
observed
by
the
students
12. Urban
ecology
Some
of
the
key
urban
niches
and
ecosystems
observed
by
the
students
13. Urban
ecology
survey
40
students
took
part,
32
completed
surveys
(22
female,
10
male).
Did
you
look
at
the
informa?on
available
on
the
VLE
about
urban
ecology
before
the
ac?vity?
No
Yes
47%
53%
Those
who
did
not
look
at
the
informa?on
beforehand
gave
varia?ons
on
“too
busy
with
other
work”
(8
students);
“not
aware
of
it”
(3
students)
and
“read
other
material
about
the
topic”
(1
student).
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Female
Male
Female
Male
No
Yes
14. Urban
ecology
survey
40
students
took
part,
32
completed
surveys
(22
female,
10
male).
Between
1
(not
at
all)
and
5
(very)
How
useful
was
this
informa?on
in
preparing
you
for
the
ac?vity?
Average
response:
3.5
Minimum:
3
(14
students)
Maximum:
4
(18
students)
Female
41%
59%
5
3
4
2
50%
50%
Male
15. Urban
ecology
survey
40
students
took
part,
32
completed
surveys
(22
female,
10
male).
Between
1
(not
at
all)
and
5
(very
much)
Rate
the
usefulness
of
this
ac?vity
for
developing
your
understanding
of
urban
ecosystems
and
ecology
Average
response:
3.6
Minimum:
3
(15
students)
:
4
(16
students
Maximum:
5
(1
students)
Female
36%
5%
59%
Male
30%
70%
5
3
4
2
16. Male
Female
Urban
ecology
survey
40
students
took
part,
32
completed
surveys
(22
female,
10
male).
Between
1
(not
at
all)
and
5
(very
much)
Rate
the
usefulness
of
this
ac?vity
for
your
understanding
of
ecological
concepts
(e.g.
ecosystems,
rela?onships
between
different
organisms
Average
response:
3.6
(one
male
student
did
not
respond)
Minimum:
2
(3
students)
:
3
(11
students)
:
4
(11
students)
Maximum:
5
(6
students)
9%
23%
36%
32%
44%
33%
11%
11%
5
3
4
2
17. Urban
ecology
survey
40
students
took
part,
32
completed
surveys
(22
female,
10
male).
Between
1
(not
at
all)
and
5
(very
much)
Rate
how
well
you
feel
this
ac?vity
complimented
the
lecture
topics
of
Living
Planet
Average
response:
3.8
Minimum:
2
(2
students)
:
3
(6
students)
:
4
(21
students)
Maximum:
5
(3
students)
Male
Female
18%
59%
14%
9%
20%
80%
5
3
4
2
18. Urban
ecology
–
next
steps
In
summary:
The
exercise
was
well-‐received
and
will
be
run
again
next
year.
The
worksheet
needs
to
be
improved
to
make
the
aims
and
outcomes
clearer
to
the
students.
Some
more
work
needs
to
be
done
to
make
the
links
between
urban
ecology
and
key
ecological
concepts
clearer
to
students.
When
asked:
would
you
recommend
running
this
ac?vity
next
year,
all
students
responded
yes.
When
asked
for
further
comments
eight
students
responded
and
highlighted
the
following:
Varia?ons
of
“a
beler
worksheet
is
needed”
(three
students);
“useful/
enjoyable
ac?vity”
(2
students),
“directed
walk”
(1
student),
“pre-‐walk
lecture
on
exact
topic”
(1
student),
“more
?me”
(1
student).
19. Plant
evolu?on
&
palaeobotany:
evolu?on
trail
Plant
evolu?on
and
palaeobotany
are
essen?al
components
of
ecology
but
some
aspects
can
be
challenging
for
students
(e.g.
evolu?on
and
“deep”
?me
both
represent
so-‐called
threshold
concepts
for
many
students).
Geological
?me
is
difficult
to
visualise
and
the
concepts
that
underpin
understanding
of
the
processes
of
evolu?on
and
palaeobiology
can
be
difficult
to
relate
to
students’
current
understanding.
In
an
effort
to
make
these
concepts
more
accessible
an
evolu?on
trail
and
virtual
evolu?on
trail
are
being
developed
on
the
University
of
Leeds
campus.
20. Plant
evolu?on
&
palaeobotany:
evolu?on
trail
Aims:
1)
To
utalise
the
extensive
botanical
diversity
of
the
University
of
Leeds
to
enhance
the
teaching
of
plant
evolu?on
and
palaeobotany.
2)
To
engage
students
with
the
process
of
developing
and
implemen?ng
an
evolu?on
trail
(virtual
and
actual)
on
the
campus.
Objec?ves:
1) Development
of
a
physical
evolu?on
trail
that
will
highlight
key
aspects
of
plant
evolu?on.
2) Develop
a
virtual
evolu?on
trail
that
can
be
followed
as
a
virtual
walk
and
as
a
supplement
to
the
physical
walk.
3) Develop
a
series
of
addi?onal
online
tools
to
supplement
and
support
both
walks;
for
example,
videos,
informa?on
sheets,
interac?ve
online
tools
(quizzes,
explanatory
interac?ve
videos),
and
short
methods
videos
(e.g.
how
to
dissect
a
flower,
how
to
make
a
stomata
slide,
how
to
handle
and
photograph
fossils).
22. Plant
evolu?on
&
palaeobotany:
evolu?on
trail
Next
steps:
Recruit
student
partners
to
assist
with
the
planning
and
development
of
the
walk
and
online
material.
This
involves
some
in
prepara?on
funding
applica?ons,
an
adver?sed
research
placement
and
a
future
adver?sed
undergraduate
research
scholarship.
Finalise
selec?on
of
stops
and
species.
Create
maps
and
QR
code
signs
to
enhance
the
actual
walk.
Both
will
be
used
in
teaching
ecology
at
different
levels
–
a
basic
approach
to
the
walk
(virtual
or
actual)
will
be
used
to
introduce
Level
1
students
to
some
of
the
key
events
in
plant
evolu?on.
More
advanced
approach
will
use
the
walk
as
a
backdrop
to
plant
evolu?on
and
interpre?ng
the
fossil
record
(with
links
to
fossils
and
informa?on
to
Leeds
City
Museum)
for
Level
3
students.
The
walks
could
also
possibly
be
used
for
outreach
(e.g.
Fes?val
of
Science/
Fascina?on
of
Plants
Day/local
school
visits)
and
as
part
of
open
day
ac?vi?es.
23. And
finally…
campus
as
a
con?ngency
plan!
hlps://teachingfocusedgeesnetwork.wordpress.com/what-‐works-‐for-‐teaching-‐and-‐learning-‐in-‐he-‐
A
Level
2
(second
year)
field
project
runs
in
Nidderdale,
North
Yorkshire
every
year.
Condi?ons
can
oSen
be
challenging,
but
this
year…
24. And
finally…
campus
as
a
con?ngency
plan!
hlps://teachingfocusedgeesnetwork.wordpress.com/what-‐works-‐for-‐teaching-‐and-‐learning-‐in-‐he-‐
A
Level
2
(second
year)
field
project
runs
in
Nidderdale,
North
Yorkshire
every
year.
Condi?ons
can
oSen
be
challenging,
but
this
year…
25. And
finally…
campus
as
a
con?ngency
plan!
hlps://teachingfocusedgeesnetwork.wordpress.com/what-‐works-‐for-‐teaching-‐and-‐learning-‐in-‐he-‐
gees/
A
Level
2
(second
year)
field
project
runs
in
Nidderdale,
North
Yorkshire
every
year.
Condi?ons
can
oSen
be
challenging,
but
this
year…
26. And
finally…
campus
as
a
con?ngency
plan!
hlps://teachingfocusedgeesnetwork.wordpress.com/what-‐works-‐for-‐teaching-‐and-‐learning-‐in-‐he-‐
A
Level
2
(second
year)
field
project
runs
in
Nidderdale,
North
Yorkshire
every
year.
Condi?ons
can
oSen
be
challenging,
but
this
year…
Photos:
Julie
Peacock
27. Making
the
most
of
university
campuses
for
teaching
ecology…
Some
of
the
poten?al
benefits
to
using
the
campus
for
teaching
ecology
include:
Reduc?on
of
elements
of
the
“novelty
effect”
and
helping
students
to
focus
on
the
task
at
hand
Allowing
students
to
quickly
link
theory
to
prac?ce,
rather
than
having
to
wait
for
a
future,
residen?al
field
course.
Addi?onally,
campuses
offer
a
wealth
of
opportunity
for
enhancing
the
teaching
of
ecology
–
short
“fieldwork”
exercises
and
self-‐guided
walks
are
only
two
simple
examples.
Lots
more
can
be
done
outside
of
ecology
–
use
of
space,
surveying,
and
much
more.
Using
the
campus
as
a
teaching
tool
offers
a
cost-‐effec?ve
(free!)
means
of
enhancing
various
elements
of
the
curriculum
and
can
help
students
to
see
the
relevance
of
some?mes
obscure
topics
to
their
daily
lives.