Amphibian Conservation in the HS Classroom

[herper99]

Hi folks,
I posted this on the TWI discussion board as well, so I'm sorry if you are reading this twice, but I thought I would use all the resources at my disposal.

Just an idea....I teach HS biology and environmental science and I am piloting a new environmental biology/ecology class this coming year. I would like to incorporate some amphibian conservation into the class and I thought I could use some resources here to get some creative project ideas. It is a semester class that runs both in the fall/winter and spring semesters. We don't have the space to build a pond for operation frog pond, but we have a local park and pond ecosystem to work with and was thinking about some sort of amphibian survey. I am open to suggestions. Things to remember:

1. These are High School students
2. We have roughly 35 minutes a day from September to mid January (and mid Jan. to June) to work with.
3. We are in seasonal PA. Winters get cold.
4. There are several species of frogs, toads, and salamanders there.
5. The project should have some purpose or culmination.
6. I must also have classroom time to cover other required content.

Again, any ideas are welcome, whether you are an educator or not.

Thanks,

Chris

[Julio]

well, if you are looking to do a frog survey contact your local fish and wildlife and i know there is an organization that does frog survery through out the country, but i can't remember the name. But you are gonna hav eto do this first thing in the fall and is better done at night rather then in the day as most species are more active at night. They will obviously be dormant in winter so your next survery will coem in the spring.

[elmoisfive]

Chris,

Don't underestimate the power of frogs in the classroom to stimulate interest and discussion. I helped a local high school biology teacher get set up with some PDFs in her classroom and her students cared for them under her supervision. She used their fascination with the frogs to build lessons around their ecosystem, threats to biodiversity etc.

When I went and spoke with her students I was pretty surprised at their engagement on topics ranging from biodiversity, conservation and most importantly what they could be doing to help.

Bill

[herper99]

Originally Posted by elmoisfive

Don't underestimate the power of frogs in the classroom to stimulate interest and discussion.

Absolutely Bill. You've got that right. :wink: I've been using various herps in my classroom for years and the kids love it. I use different specimens to engage students and reinforce lessons. In fact, I have converted other biology teachers to herpers for just this reason. I have other kids who aren't even my students come up and stand at my door, peeking in to see what I have. It is a fun classroom. In addition, I run a herpetology club in our high school and have over 30 student club members. What's great about this is that the students learn proper husbandry of the animals and pretty much take care of the animals' care and maintenance. They are very knowledgeable.

What I am looking to do however is use the local park/pond resource to get the kids from my environmental biology class outside in the field to do some real "hands on" conservation. This class was formerly a Field Biology class that ran as a half semester class. We did some field collecting, species documentation, and water quality testing. However, now it has changed to a full semester class that focuses more on environmental biology and ecology. I have some good ideas on how to use the park and pond, but I though there might be some other creative ideas from the board members. Especially those of you who have done actual field work.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[DocChris]

Excellent ideas.
I start college (after a 12 year hiatus) in January with my sites set on a Secondary Education speciailized Biology degree. My thought is that the best teachers I had in middle and highschool were those who engaged my classmates and I through interactive exercizes which defied normal educational paradigms.

Now, over 20 years after I sat in their classrooms (GOD I'm getting old :? ) I can still remember sitting atop my desk in History class, paddling my notional canoe, the logic questions that my Science teacher used as extra credit (where [i]do[i] they bury survivors?), and the tangents about hanging out with King Tut and George Washington that my Social Science teacher used to take. At the same time, I remember absolutely nothing from my English or Math teacher's classes.

My goal is to teach ecology from a hands-on perspective. Learning the importance of soil composition and makeup to an ecosystem is, in my opinion, just as important as maintaining proper temperature and humidity gradients in a vivarium, and I hope to incite my students to a passionate curiosity about the minutae that go into a microcosm. Ultimately, I hope to build two vivariums per class, one using local conditions, flora & fauna, and a second from a more exotic locale. I hope to build these vivaria from the ground up, replicating appropriate conditions down to microflora and fauna, in an attempt to show the interlaced nature of our environment. And while yes, I will likely use feeder insects, I am still brainstorming about ways to culture them within the vivarium. (Has anyone tried pop-out culture points for FFs? Placing mesh over a hollow "log" which can be removed to replace culture seems to be an attainable goal, but I'm not sure about the practicality of it.)

Anyway, I'd love to hear what your plans are, as far as curriculae and hands-on learning experience goals.

[herper99]

DocChris, I am very excited about your endeavors to become a biology teacher. It really sounds like you have the right ideas and a passion for engaging students. I am also an adjunct professor at a local college and teach biology education students. You hit the nail on the head. You need NOT be the "sage on the stage" in front of the class lecturing anymore. That is the old style of teaching and has proved to be much less effective than the interactive, hands on approach. Promote critical thinking, practical application, and constructivism. If you remember this, and apply it, your students will learn well. And most of all, connect with your students. ALL of them can learn, you just have to figure out how. Of course, some of them will slip through the cracks because we never quite figure them out, but don't stop trying.

Anyway....enough of my pep talk.

By the way, I went back to college as a non-traditional student as well. You are going to love it!

Good Luck! :wink:

[evolvstll]

I kept most of my collection in my classroom until this past school year. I had incorporated them into lessons from ecology to evolution. I even had a few projects that were centered around the pdf's. Well, as a result of energy conservation and such, I was asked to remove my collection from my room. A shame as it is a loss to the students. I have had several students majoring in fields dealing with amphibians. I guess I can say I know have a frog room at home, thanks to a wonderful and understanding wife. Students keep asking where the frogs are and I just tell them that I did not want to come back to campus every day during the summer to take care of them, along with the fact that is was a pain to deal with the temps as the AC and heater were turned off by a central computer when school was not in. I just find it a shame that my passion and hobby will not be incorporated into my lessons in the future due to short sighted administrators.........all in the name of energy conservation?