Abstract
Large, introductory, nonmajors biology classes present challenges when trying to encourage class discussion to help reinforce important concepts. Lively in-class discussion involving hundreds of students is more successful when a relevant story told with passion is used to introduce a topic. In my courses, each semester begins with thorough treatment of the scientific method, followed by the multiple Darwinian theories of evolution. To reinforce these two important themes, the story of the ivory-billed woodpeckers ecology, evolution, conservation, and probable extirpation has been effective in provoking class dialogue and reinforcing the two themes. Although I describe this approach as a large-class activity, it works well in courses of all sizes. In this article, I discuss teaching with storytelling and detail the use of the ivory-billed woodpecker story as a teaching tool.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 160-170 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | American Biology Teacher |
Volume | 76 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2014 |
Keywords
- Open inquiry
- evolutionary theory
- in-class discussion
- ivory-billed woodpecker
- scientific method
- storytelling
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences