Dear All - To add another tangent to this discussion, the teaching of
ecology at the high school level can be very crucial for raising student
interest in the field, as well as in the allied field of environmental
science (or perhaps any field of science!). When I was in high school
in the late 1960s, I had an outstanding high school biology teacher, Mr.
Paul Hummer, who went on to be MD state biology teacher of the year, and
a high school biology textbook author. I remember during my senior year
we did an ecosystem project, where once a week, we were taken in a bus
up to the city watershed to look at ecosystem processes. If I recall
correctly, we spent half a day doing this for about 6 weeks in the fall
before it got cold. We measured litter depths and amounts, extracted
soil microfauna using Berlese funnels, measured tree diameters,
collected salamanders, and so on. The project was very intensive, yet a
lot of fun, and I still recall it fondly now more than 37 years later.
I still even have my final report! This one class got me hooked on
ecology at the time, and my take home message is: do something fun for
the students, outside of the classroom, in the field. As Silvert
implies, the rewards will last a lifetime.
As for a book, I can't remember what we used (we had BSCS Biology as
our text) but I think the particular text is less useful than the field
experience itself.
Howie Neufeld (incipient geezer)
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Why is ecology taught at the HS
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:38:13 +0100
From: William Silvert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: William Silvert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
An interesting tangent to this discussion, and I would like to take it a bit
farther afield. For me the important aspect of studying science is not the
collection of facts that one is exposed to, but rather a way of seeing the
world and learning to interpret one's own observations. Subjects where one
can actually see things that lead to scientific conclusions are ideal from
this point of view, and students can see ecology in the field and also see
lots of informative programs on TV. I think they get more out of ecology
than, say genetics, despite the newsworthy importance of genetics.
It is a delight to show people something that has been before them all their
lives that they have never seen. My favourite experience with this was
actually in geology, when I took my kids to a crowded beach below a cliff
and at one point showed them some vertical strata and asked them to try to
imagine what it must have taken to tilt those stones 90 degrees. Many of the
people who were near us overheard me, and the astonishment on their faces
when they realised what had happened there was one of my greatest rewards
for studying science.
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Esat Atikkan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 2:32 PM
Subject: Why is ecology taught at the HS
> Interesting point to question offering at the HS level.
> I teach a variety of ecology - mar bio courses at a local community
> college and can add an observation - students who have had an enviro biol
> or ecology course at HS are better equipped to become part of the 'field
> ecology' course and related courses.
> The conclusion may not be statistically significant, but the correlation
> has been obvious.
> Esat Atikkan
>
>
> E. Esat Atikkan, Ph.D.
> Adj. Prof., Biol.
> Montgomery College, Rockville
> 51 Manakee St
> Rockville, MD 20850, USA
>
> Malcolm McCallum <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Try using one of the environmental science texts like Miller. Do not use
> Molles, it is terrible. Having said this, I question why ecology is being
> offered in a highschool. Few community colleges offer this selection, let
> alone highschools. Many highschools these days are broadening their
> curricula. Meanwhile, students have problems reading, writing, and don't
> understand the basic biology, chemistry, or other electives. This doesn't
> mean you should not offer it, just something to consider.
>
>
> Something
>
> On Sun, September 23, 2007 10:52 am, Beth Callaghan wrote:
>> Anyone have any recommendations on an ecology text suitable for grades
>> 9-12? thanks.
>>
>> Beth Callaghan
>> Easthampton High School
>> Easthampton, MA
>>
>
>
> Malcolm L. McCallum
> Assistant Professor of Biology
> Editor Herpetological Conservation and Biology
> http://www.herpconbio.org
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who
> knows.
> Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.
>
>
--
Dr. Howard S. Neufeld, Professor
Department of Biology
572 Rivers Street
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
departmental webpage: http://www.biology.appstate.edu/faculty/neufeldhs.htm
personal webpage: http://www.appstate.edu/~neufeldhs/index.html
Tel: 828-262-2683
Fax: 828-262-2127
