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ABLE 2007: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY June 5-9. Host: Ruth Beattie
E-mail: rebeat1@uky.edu
Major Workshops
Wednesday June 7
Saphida Migabo, University of Northern British Columbia and Judy Guinan, Radford
University
An Investigative Look at the Biology of Invertebrates
Many undergraduate laboratories on invertebrate biology focus on a number of
specimens across a broad spectrum of phyla. Frequently these traditional approaches
to invertebrate biology consist of having students examine a large number of
preserved specimens, and may include a dissection or two. Aside from the dissections,
students in these labs are only passively involved with the material and frequently
view the experience as an exercise in memorization. Here we introduce an investigative
alternative to the more traditional approach. Student groups in this two part
exercise each focus on a living representative of a phylum in the first week
of the lab. They pose questions about the biology and behavior of the animal,
and develop and test hypotheses to answer them. They then conduct independent
library research and prepare presentations about their phylum to the other students
during a subsequent laboratory period. In this way, students learn from each
other about the phyla covered in the exercise, and gain experience with hypothesis
development and testing, data collection, library research, and the presentation
of experimental results.