First two weeks down. This iteration of the course is interesting. Many say the third time you teach a course is when you really have it down, but with two iterations I sometimes feel like I’m starting over. However, I’m not, so lessons I’ve learned in the past help.
Week 1 saw us get the cameras out on day 1 and learn how to use them Having the tutorials and MK from the lab as a TA were a big help. Having the Living Windows insect room next door separated by a prep room was also a big help as I could just go in and grab some living organisms, isopods, hissing cockroaches and a mantis. Students did great and it was great to see them learning to film animals at the start. During Wed. lecture portion of the class, I decided to do a similar activity, but with our time lapse cameras. Since I hadn’t used these in previous iterations and time lapse requires…well time, we set them up at the beginning to film two species of roaches eating some flake food. I let the students adjust the composition and filming rate, then we let it run while I lectured. This turned out really well too and they got some great videos. So, first week and we got started learning how to use the equipment and film animals to get data.
Week 2 was a shorter week due to the Labor Day holiday, so we just had lecture on Wed. I try to not lecture the full two hours. Students had two small assignments due, their observations from nature, which I’ve done in the past and their first entry of an annotated bibliography. I’m trying a different approach with the annotated bibliography based on a research student in the lab. Instead of it being due once, with 8 or so citations, it is due once a week. After my lecture I used the remaining time to discuss what they observed and read. Both activities generated discussion on potential projects. One thing I learned from the first iteration, that was lacking in the second, was this group discussion of projects. I do it to discuss hypotheses, feasibility and potential experimental design. When in person in a group, students usually jump in with their ideas. Having those two assignments started the discussion so we could start brainstorming project ideas.
So far, so good in class.
Next week we’ll go collect in the Glen (weather permitting) and try to film in the lab, then learn to digitize videos. Wed. will see us discussing terrestrial locomotion.