ISSN: 1938-7024 Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Network of Conservation Educators & Practitioners LESSONS IN CONSERVATION VOLUME 8 STUDENT JANUARY 2018 LEARNING ISSUE Network of Conservation Educators & Practitioners Lessons in Conservation is the official journal of the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP)— a collaborative project of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) at the American Museum of Natural History—and is published as issues become available. Teaching and learning modules presented here in Lessons in Conservation are available in modifiable form for teachers on the NCEP website (ncep.amnh.org). All materials are distributed free of charge. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Museum of Natural History or the funders of this project. All components of a module (Syntheses, Exercises, and Case Studies) have been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by NCEP. Editors: Production team: Ana L. Porzecanski Suzanne Macey CBC and NCEP Director NCEP Manager Adriana Bravo Kristin Douglas The Field Museum Action Center Associate NCEP Production Coordinator Royal Ontario Museum Departmental Associate Nadav Gazit CBC and NCEP Research and Production Assistant Kimberley Landrigan CBC Capacity Development Specialist Stefanie Siller NCEP Intern Lessons in Conservation is available online at: ncep.amnh.org/linc All reproduction or distribution must provide full citation of the original work and provide a copyright notice as follows: “Copyright 2018, by the authors of the material and the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation of the American Museum of Natural History. All rights reserved.” Cover photo: Araneus diadematus By: Olav Gjerde Journal illustrations obtained from the American Museum of Natural History’s library: images.library.amnh.org/digital/ LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Dear Reader, Welcome to Lessons in Conservation, the official journal of the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP), a collaborative project of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) at the American Museum of Natural History. This journal aims to introduce NCEP teaching and learning resources, or modules, to a broad audience. Our modules are designed to support undergraduate and professional level education on a variety of conservation topics, and are available for free download at our website (ncep.amnh.org). For this issue, we present a suite of materials that were either adapted or developed specifically to promote and evaluate the development of skills in students. These materials target three skills areas—oral communication, data analysis, and critical thinking—and were used as part of a collaborative research project supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Study results show that the repeated use of these materials, together with opportunities for self-reflection on the skills themselves, generated skill gains over the course of a single term. More details on the study and how the materials have been used can be found in the editorial article included in this issue, titled What Can Your Students Do? The Importance of Assessing and Developing 21st Century Skills in Conservation Students. We are grateful to many people across the CBC, NCEP, and those who participated in the NSF study for their contributions to the development of Lessons in Conservation. Please see the back cover for a full acknowledgement of the foundations and individuals that have supported this project. Enjoy this issue of Lessons in Conservation and please visit our website to start using NCEP resources in your classroom! We welcome feedback on our resources and we especially welcome those wishing to become further involved in the Network. Email us at [email protected]. Ana L. Porzecanski Adriana Bravo Co-Editor Co-Editor TABLE What Can Your Students Do? The Importance of Assessing and OF Developing 21st Century Skills in Conservation Students 5 CONTENTS Ana L. Porzecanski and Adriana Bravo Why is Biodiversity Important? An Oral Communication Exercise 11 Eleanor J. Sterling, Romi L. Burks, Joshua Linder, Tom Langen, Denny S. Fernandez, Douglas Ruby, and Nora Bynum Selecting Areas for Conservation: An Oral Communication Exercise 14 Eleanor J. Sterling, Romi L. Burks, Joshua Linder, Tom Langen, Denny S. Fernandez, Douglas Ruby, and Nora Bynum Sharpen Your Oral Communication Skills! 18 Eleanor J. Sterling, Romi L. Burks, Joshua Linder, Tom Langen, Denny S. Fernandez, Douglas Ruby, Nora Bynum, Adriana Bravo, and Ana L. Porzecanski Parrots and Palms: Analyzing Data to Determine Best Management Strategies and Sustainable Harvest Levels 22 James P. Gibbs Adapted by Michelle Cawthorn, Adriana Bravo, and Ana L. Porzecanski What is Biodiversity? Analyzing Data to Compare and Conserve Spider Communities 30 James P. Gibbs, Ian J. Harrison, and Jennifer Griffiths Adapted by Adriana Bravo and Ana L. Porzecanski Practice Your Data Analysis Skills! 40 Adriana Bravo and Ana L. Porzecanski Applying Critical Thinking to the Amphibian Decline Problem 44 Adriana Bravo and Ana L. Porzecanski Applying Critical Thinking to an Invasive Species Problem 54 Adriana Bravo, Ana L. Porzecanski, John A. Cigliano, Stefanie Siller, and Erin Betley Note to educators: To access teaching notes for these modules, visit our website (ncep.amnh.org), register as an educator, and search for module by title. LESSONS IN CONSERVATION VOLUME 8 JANUARY 2018 EDITORIAL 5 What Can Your Students Do? The Importance of Assessing and Developing 21st Century Skills in Conservation Students Ana L. Porzecanski1 and Adriana Bravo2,3 1American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA; 2The Field Museum, Chicago, IL, USA; 3The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada 1. INTRODUCTION Understanding life on Earth, and how to sustain it, and discuss the findings as well as implications for is a fundamental challenge of our time. The task conservation education. requires professionals and academics who are deeply knowledgeable about the biosphere and its dynamics— 2. STUDY BACKGROUND AND DESIGN a challenge educators rise to meet everyday through courses in environmental sciences and conservation The Network of Conservation Educators and biology. But as educators increasingly adopt evidence- Practitioners project (ncep.amnh.org) develops and based, scientific approaches to teaching and learning disseminates open-access teaching and learning (Handelsman et al. 2004, Freeman et al. 2014, Nordlund materials to enhance and broaden access to 2016), the question arises: what are our courses conservation education and training worldwide. NCEP preparing students to do? materials, or modules, are multi-component, peer- reviewed, and adaptable. They are design to provide As recent articles and reports have emphasized, students the opportunity to learn and apply new educating the next generation of students to address content knowledge, and develop process skills. Once complex societal and environmental issues involves a critical mass of NCEP modules was available, NCEP more than the learning of scientific content (NRC 2003, partnered with module users to begin to evaluate Rhodes 2010, AAAS 2011, Blickley et al. 2013). Intellectual their effectiveness, starting with knowledge gains. and practical skills—often referred to as professional, A series of faculty-driven studies demonstrated that “21st Century,” or process skills—are considered to be NCEP modules can help faculty members improve part of the essential learning outcomes of a liberal arts student content knowledge, student confidence in education (AAC&U 2007). It is critical to ensure that knowledge, and student interest in biodiversity topics undergraduate students develop effective process skills (Hagenbuch et al. 2009). in leadership, communication, working in groups, critical thinking, data analysis, and project management to be In 2010, NCEP initiated a new study1 designed to effective professionals in conservation science, policy, investigate skill development associated with module and practice (Blickley et al. 2013). Yet there is concern use. The study brought together NCEP investigators that many undergraduate science students in the United and faculty participants from diverse institutions to States are not currently developing important process explore how to best operationalize the teaching and skills needed by professionals (Arum and Roksa 2010, assessment of skills in Conservation Biology and other NRC 2009, Pascarella et al. 2011). integrative fields. The study selected three focal skills for investigation—oral communication, data analysis, How can we best teach process skills, and how can and critical thinking—and built on several existing NCEP we evaluate the development of these skills in our modules. students? The materials featured in this issue of Lessons in Conservation formed the basis of a recent study The study targeted five key questions: led by the Network of Conservation Educators and 1. By using the instructional materials, did students Practitioners (NCEP) to answer these questions. The aim of this editorial is to familiarize readers with how 1 NSF DUE-0942789, Developing and assessing process skills in the materials were used in the context of this study, Conservation Biology and other integrative fields. LESSONS IN CONSERVATION VOLUME 8 JANUARY 2018 6 EDITORIAL improve their abilities, in relation to the targeted “intervention”) focused