1. Biomagnification: you are what you eat but don’t excrete Jon Akin Terry Davin Win Everham Evelyn Gaiser Amanda McConney: Facilitator Courtney Richmond

2. Course description Introductory ecology course Small to large courses Part of a larger unit on cycling matter Prerequisite knowledge Graph structure, types of graphs Appropriate graph for a given data set Trophic structure & energy flow

3. Teaching challenges Understanding the scientific process Critical thinking skills Ability to interpret graphs Critical consumers of scientific information

4. Student learning objectives By the end of this unit, the student will be able to:  Interpret graphs and draw conclusions from them  Describe the process of biomagnification  Analyze graphs to identify factors that influence the process of biomagnification  Apply the law of conservation of matter to biomagnification

5. Sequence of events Day 0 Pre-test Day 1 Review Pre-test Introducing complexity with a graph Jigsaw  Stage 1: Expert Groups  Stage 2: Mixed Groups Day 2 Case studies: graph analysis * Report back to class Wrap up Later Post-test

6. http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ncp/pub/pdf/bio/ch3-4_e.pdf PRE-TEST Learning objectives addressed: interpret graphs & draw conclusions describe biomagnification

8. Day 1 Guided review based on results of pre-test think-pair-share to introduce complexity with a graph

9. Day 1 Jigsaw stage 1: experts review factors that influence biomagnification Organismal factors Community factors Landscape factors Jigsaw stage 2: mixed groups - experts peer teach

11. Day 2 Jigsaw stage 3: mixed groups analyze case studies Case study 1 Case study 2 Case study 3

12. Student Directions 1.Refresh your expertise on the factors that influence biomagnification (organismal,community, landscape) 2.Discuss your case study with your group 3.Come to a consensus on the case study questions 4.Be prepared to report to the class (assign spokesperson)

13. Case study 1 Click for graphs

14. Case study 2 Cadmium concentration (mg/g wet weight) in muscle, liver and kidney of different age groups of habour porpoise from Greenland (Source: Johansen, P., 1997, Paludan-Müller et al. 1993 ).

15. Case study 3

16. Day 2: wrap-up Common trends among case studies Overview of factors that affect biomagnification There is no away (persistence in the environment)

17. Assessments Pre-test (formative) Post-test (summative) Think-pair-share (formative, not graded) Graded exam question(s)

18. Feedback Please make any editorial comments on the material & return to the team Did we ask the right questions on the pre-test? Did the handouts have enough information for the tasks? Should the pre-test and post-tests be identical? Timing of post-test administration