Blue Oak Ranch Reserve

10 Apr, 01 PM - 12 Apr, 03 PM

The purpose of IB 174LF is to introduce students to the biology of birds. More generally this course enables me to address what I consider to be one of the great concerns of educating students in the life sciences today. This centers on most undergraduate courses being narrowly constrained to a specific topic (e.g. cell biology, endocrinology, anatomy). While such an approach allows for comprehensive coverage on a topic, students lose perspective of how the different components of biology fit together in the context of the whole organism and the environment it inhabits. I strive to teach integrative biology, by providing detail on such topics as ecology, behavior, genetics, evolution, physiology, anatomy, etc., and their integration at the organismal level by using birds as a central theme. My pedagogy centers integrating material covered in lectures (2 lectures per week), with specimens from the collection of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology examined in lab (2 labs per week), and species observed in their natural habitats during fieldtrips (6 tips, including 1 weekend away). When teaching I keep my slides as simple as possible (generally a few key points per slide) and make use of short video clips to reinforce material. During labs, students work with study skins to learn the key life history characters of all the orders and families of birds of the world. The field sections center on teaching the students how to take field notes, make detailed behavioral observations, and to just celebrating the joy of being outdoors. Collectively this involves considerable contact hours per week with fieldtrips taking place on weekends. These trips serve to provide students with exposure to living birds and to introduce them to the bird fauna of California. Through these activities, students acquire an in-depth understanding of the diversity and complexity of worlds extant bird taxa and the importance of its conservation. To be able to work with birds in the field is central to my pedagogy. The purpose of the proposed field trips is to introduce students to the morphological, ecological, and behavioral attributes of living birds and, hence, live animals represent a necessary part of these activities. Further, observational studies of behavior necessarily involve live animals. As a result, no alternative means of observing behavior (e.g., video) will suffice. Particularly relevant is the unpredictability of behavior; no matter how carefully designed a study is, animals are individuals that frequently behave in unanticipated ways. As a result, it is critical that students gain experience with live animals in order to become proficient at responding both intellectually and ethically to the unpredictability inherent in this type of research.

Visit #39526 @Blue Oak Ranch Reserve

Approved

Under Project # 30776 | Class

UC Berkeley Ornithology

faculty - University of California, Berkeley

Reservation Members(s)

Rauri Bowie Apr 10 - 12, 2015 (3 days)
Group of 26 Undergraduate Student Apr 10 - 12, 2015 (3 days)

Reserve Resources(s) | Create Invoice

Lodging - Personal Tent Camping - per person 28 Apr 10 - 12, 2015
The Barn - Multi-purpose Room 28 Apr 10 - 12, 2015