Presentation Details
| Connecting Curriculum, the Scientific Method, and Animal Behavior using Amphibian Models Jessica Stamn, Jakub Zegar. University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, USA |
Abstract
Although K-12 students learn about broad topics, such as habitat destruction in class, their knowledge can remain disconnected from real-world contexts, making it difficult for students to recognize how slight changes in the environment directly influence organismal behavior and survival. The ‘Ectotherm ER’ module is a hands-on inquiry-based activity that integrates animal behavior science into classroom topics and engages students in the scientific method. While in the classroom, students learn about the mass extinction of amphibians and make agar frogs that serve as thermal models for amphibians’ body temperature in different environments. Students then brainstorm what variables could impact amphibian temperature and design an experiment to assess how agar frog temperatures change when placed in different micro-habitats around their campus. Data is collected by students using thermal readers and visualized using histograms to compare classroom data. This activity has been implemented by scientists in K-12 classrooms, but mobile kits for checkout and instructional videos are being created for teachers to implement the activity in their classroom independently.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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