CLASS SYLLABUS

LISTENING TO ECOLOGY - A JOINT SKC (Salish Kootenai College) UM CLASS

Fall 2002 -  Friday, 3:10-5:00 on the UM campus

Health Sciences, Rm. 411

THE CLASS MEETS FOR THE FIRST TIME ON

OCTOBER 4^TH

WEB Site  -  http://www.cas.umt.edu/listeningtoecology/

Instructors

Before Nov. 15, 2002:  Penny Kukuk  -  pkukuk@selway.umt.edu  -  (406) 243-6144

             HS 310 - Office hours:  Tuesday 10:00-12:00, Friday 1:00-2:30

After Nov. 15, 2002:    Don Christian  -  dchristi@selway.umt.edu  -  (406) 243-5122

                                    HS 104  -  Office hours:  Tuesday 10:00-12:00, Friday 1:00-2:30 

 

            This is a course aimed at providing undergraduate students with the ability to critically evaluate both written and oral scientific discourse.  Using the University of Montana's Friday Ecology Seminar Series (FESS) as a course “backbone” students will learn to: (1) read and evaluate primary scientific literature,  (2) critically evaluate the content and style of seminars in the field of ecology,  (3) participate in discussions as teams, (4) participate in internet based collaborations,  (5) write critical evaluations of seminar presentations in collaboration with other class members, and (6) learn to track current advances in ecological research.

 

The “backbone” of the course, the FESS, brings speakers to The University of Montana from all over the country.  This series will provide the topics for weekly discussions each based on the research of the seminar speaker for that week.  Following careful orientation providing information on what to look for in ecological primary literature, students will be assigned weekly readings, authored by the seminar speaker or about the seminar speaker’s work.  With each set of readings,  a set of questions will be provided for students to answer.  As with the readings, the questions will become progressively more difficult and comprehensive as time passes to build student  skill levels.

 

Prior to attending the FESS presentation each Friday afternoon, the class will meet for one hour to discuss the assigned written material in the form of a debate.  Students will be randomly assigned to a team that defends or attacks the speaker’s research.  The questions provided with the readings will be designed to provide a basis for this discussion.  As the difficulty of the readings and questions increases over the term these debates will take on greater depth and scientific sophistication.

 

            Following the debate students will attend the seminar and have the chance to hear an oral presentation by the author of the paper they have just discussed and fill out a Seminar Evaluation Form.  New teams consisting of pairs of students will be formed.  These new teams will prepare a consensus critique of the seminar based on the contents of individual’s completed Seminar Evaluation Forms.   A format for this critique will be provided.  The discussion process leading to the team’s consensus critique will be a WEB based.

 

Evaluation of student progress will be based on attendance, participation in classroom debates,  contributions to the WEB based discussions and other WEB based activities, the quality of the final consensus critiques, and student derived reports of individual contributions to team efforts.  

 

            For UM students grading will depend on earning up to 1,000 points over the semester; 125 per week for 8 weeks..  The points will be distributed as follows:  Answers to questions based on readings (40), Seminar Evaluation Sheet (20), Team written critique (40) Contribution to class discussion and use of WEB class message boards (25).   Answers to questions are due on the day of the seminar by the author of the readings.  The Evaluation Form, Critique and a report of team effort are due at the beginning of class one week following each seminar (see schedule below).   Arrangements with the instructor must be made for submitting late assignments.  No grade will be provided for a student until all his or her assignments have been submitted.  Late submission of assigned material will result in grade reductions at the rate of 10 point per week.  Grading for SKC students will be done by Pat Hurley and Marianne Lushkiw as described in the SKC course syllabus.

 

FRIDAY ECOLOGY SEMINAR SERIES – FALL 2002

 NULH 101, 4:10-5:00 PM

DATE	Class Assignments Due	SPEAKER	TOPIC
9-6-02	No Class	Doug Schemske Michigan State University	“Pollinator-mediated selection and the evolution of floral traits in Mimulus”
9-13-02	No Class	Brian Dennis University of Idaho, Moscow	“Allee effects and stochastic populations”
9-20-02	No Class	Jeff Dukes Carnegie Institute	“What determines the susceptibility of grasslands to invasion?”
9-27-02	No Class	David Roshier Charles Sturt University Australia	“Broad scale processes in dynamic landscapes and the paradox of large populations of desert waterbirds”
10-4-02	First Class No Assignments due	Miles Silman Wake Forest University	“Thinking small about big patterns:  tree life history and diversity in Amazonian rain forests”
10-11-02	Poster Critique Readings/Storey	Ken Storey Carlton University, Ottawa, Ontario	“Mammals on ice:  molecular secrets of winter hibernation”
10-18-02 JOUR 304	Eval. Form and Critique  - Storey Reading - Schultheis	Alicia Schultheis Stetson University, Florida	“Upside-down hierarchies:  does recruitment drive genetic structure of stream insect populations?”
10-25-02	Eval. Form and Critique - Schultheis   Reading/Roemer	Gary Roemer Dept. of Fishery & Wildlife Sciences New Mexico State University	“Facing extinction:  exotic herbivores, golden eagle predation and the decline of the island fox”
11-1-02	Eval. Form and Critique – Roemer Reading - Morbey	Yolanda Morbey University of Toronto	“Piscivorous behavior of lake trout in lakes with contrasting food webs”
11-8-02	Eval. Form and Critique – Morbey   Reading - Bentz	Barbara Bentz Rocky Mountain Research Station Logan, Utah	“Bark beetle population dynamics:  influences of an adaptive seasonality”
11-15-02	Eval. Form and Critique – Bentz Reading – Moore	Allen Moore Lancaster University, U.K.	“The contributions of parents to offspring:  direct and indirect genetic effects in burying beetles”
11-22-02	Eval. Form and Critique – Moore Reading - Goodman	Dan Goodman Montana State University	“Salmon supplementation:  risk assessment and the limits of theory”
12-6-02	Eval. Form and Criqitque–Goodman Reading - Dial	Ken Dial Biological Sciences University of Montana	“Evolution of avian locomotion:  integrating nesting biology, flight styles, and the origin of flight”