Course Material

This is a lab based, research course, so the structure is not traditional. Furthermore, this semester (Fall 2020) we will have to navigate authentic research with reduced face to face capacity and distance learning. This page will be updated throughout the semester with information. Traditionally, we will have lectures the first half of the class, reading papers and book chapters from the  Irschick and Higham Animal Athletes book and Biewener and Patek Animal Locomotion book. The goal is to obtain a basic understanding of what animal movement is, how some of the basics work and what can affect it. Lab the first half will focus on quantifying movement, learning to film with high speed cameras, digitize structures of interest and obtain kinematics. Below is an abbreviated list of each week that will be filled in throughout the semester (note: enrolled Towson students, please go to the course blackboard for more information).

 Fall 2020 schedule:

Week 1

  • Lab: Introduction, camera setup and test.
    • Assignment due by end of the day: Comment on how to film VoiceThread
    • Assignment due by next class: high speed video (Video test rubric)
  • Lecture: Form, function and performance

Week 2:

  • Lab: Introduction to digitizing and performance analyses
    • Assignment due at end of day: Comment on how to digitize VoiceThread
    • Assignment due by the next class: 1 point digitized using MTrackJ of a film we collected (rubric)
    • Assignment due by the end of the week: High-speed video test of an animal
  • Lecture: What affects performance?

Week 3:

  • Lab: Labor day NO Class
    • Assignment due by next class: Scientist Spotlight Reflection
    • Assignment due by end of the week: two observations from nature on factors that can affect animal performance
  • Lecture: Muscle Physiology and Energetics

Week 4

  • Lab: checkin, R tutorial. Collection and filming for face-face students
    • Assignment due at end of the day: Watch VoiceThread on kinematics and performance in R
    • Assignment due by beginning of next class: basic kinematics and performance from tracked point
    • Assignment due by end of the week: Scientist Spotlight reflection
  • Lecture: Terrestrial Locomotion

Week 5

  • Lab: checkin. Collection and filming for face-face students
    • Scientist Spotlight with Ms. Elizabeth Mendoza, reading Mendoza et al. 2020 
    • Assignment due at 1: Initial Hypothesis
    • Assignment due by beginning of next class: Scientist Spotlight reflection
    • Assignment due by end of the week: Summary of paper from primary literature
  • Lecture: Jumping, Clinging, and suspensory locomotion

Week 6

  • Lab: checkin. Collection and filming for face-face students
    • Scientist Spotlight with Ms. Ophelia Bolmin, reading Bolmin et al. 2019 
    • Assignment due at 1: Revise Hypothesis including sample video
    • Assignment due by beginning of next class: Scientist Spotlight reflection
  • Lecture: Flight in animals

Week 7

  • Lab: Check in, collect specimens, film
  • Lecture: Midterm review
    • Midterm – 24 hours to take it, 2 hours to complete it, open book short answer/essay
    • Assignment due at the end of the week: Scientist Spotlight Reflection

Week 8

  • Lab: Check in, collect specimens, film
    • Assignment due at 1: Research Proposal Abstract (rubric)
  • Lecture: check in

Week 9

  • Lab: Collect data: videos and start digitizing
  • Lecture: Check in
    • Assignment: 3 students present papers from the primary literature (synchronous and virtual) (rubric)

Week 10

  • Lab: Collect data: videos and digitize
    • Assignment due at 1 pm: Proposed Research VoiceThread Presentation (rubric)
  • Lecture: Check in
    • Assignment: 3 students present papers from the primary literature (synchronous and virtual) (rubric)

Week 11

  • Lab: Check in and Progress Report Meetings
  • Lecture: Check in
    • Assignment: 3 students present papers from the primary literature (synchronous and virtual) (rubric)

Week 12

  • Lab: Data analysis and visualization in R, Progress Report Meetings
    • Assignment due at 1pm: Progress Report
  • Lecture: How to write a scientific paper
    • Assignment due at 3 pm: Annotated Bibliography (rubric)

Week 13

  • Lab: More data analysis and visualization in R, Progress Report Meetings
    • Assignment due at 1pm: Progress Report
  • Lecture: More data analysis and visualization in R (with real data)
    • Assignment due at 3 pm: Paper Draft (rubric)

Week 14

  • Lab: Progress report meetings (20 minutes each)
    • Assignment due at 1pm: Progress Report
  • Lecture: No class Thanksgiving Break

Fall 2018 Schedule: 

Week 1

  • Lab: Introduction, camera setup and test.
  • Lecture: Form, function and performance

Week 2:

Week 3:

  • Lab: Introduction to digitizing and performance analyses
    • assignment due at the start: two observations from nature on factors that can affect animal performance
  • Lecture: Muscle Physiology and Energetics

Week 4:

  • Lab: Field trip cancelled due to weather, filmed crickets in lab, and worked through basic kinematics in R
    • assignment due at the start: 1 point digitized using MTrackJ of a film we collected (rubric)
  • Lecture: Terrestrial locomotion

Week 5:

  • Lab: Field trip to the TU Field Station to collect. Cancelled. Troubleshoot R, collect in Glen Arboretum and brainstorm project ideas instead.
    • assignment due at the start: basic kinematic analysis, max. displacement, speed and acceleration with plots
  • Lecture: Jumping, climbing and suspensory locomotion

Week 6:

Week 7:

  • Lab: Field trip to Oregon Ridge Park (it actually happened!)
  • Lecture: Midterm
  • Assignment:
    • Due at the end of the week: 250 word research proposal abstract (first group assignment with peer evaluation, rubric)

Week 8:

  • Lab: Filming set up and data collection
    • Meet with each group to discuss experimental design
  • Lecture: data collection

Week 9:

  • Lab: Data collection
    • Assignment due: one research video, digitized point, and resulting kinematics
  • Lecture: 3 student’s present a paper summary (rubric )
    • Work on kinematics for research project

Week 10:

  • Lab: Data Collection
  • Lecture: Student paper summary presentation & group proposed research presentation (rubric)

Week 11:

  • Lab: Continue data collection
  • Lecture: Student paper summary presentations, work on kinematics and data management

Week 12:

  • Lab: Continue data collection and digitizing
  • Lecture: Data analysis and presentation

Week 13:

  • Lab: Continue data collection and digitizing
    • Due: Research Abstract Movie trailer (rubric)
  • Lecture: No Class, Thanksgiving Break

Week 14:

  • Lab: Continue data collection
  • Lecture: Continue data collection & Student paper summary presentation

Week 15: 

  • Lab: Data collection and analysis
  • Lecture: Data analysis and visualization
    • Friday December 7th, 2018: Departmental Poster Presentation (Judging Rubric)

Week 16:

  • Last day of class: Finish up projects
  • Friday December 14th, 2018 Final Paper Due. (Rubric)