1. Exploring Field Studies: From Field Trips to Exit Projects WCS-BRONX ZOO welcomes you to Cycle 3!

2. Rebecca Wilson, WCS- Bronx Zoo rwilson@wcs.org UA LEAD TEACHERS: Mitch Goodkin: drgoodkin@aol.com Betty Picpican: bettypicpican@msn.combettypicpican@msn.com Sephali Ray: sephali@gmail.com We’re here to help!

3. Overview of Cycle 3: Day 1: Forming Investigable Questions »What is a Field Study? How is it different from the other types of Exit Projects? Day 2: Tools for Collecting Data, Field Trip Boot Camp and Evaluating Exit Projects

4. Upon completion of Cycle 3, You will be able to : Understand an animal well enough to generate a question and hypothesis. Learn how to create and use an ethogram to collect data. Evaluate Exit Projects based on criteria for solid scientific design components.

5. Pop Quiz: What are the four types of Exit Projects?

6. Controlled Experiment Design Project Field Study Secondary Research Exit Project

7. What is a “Field Study?” Turn to an elbow partner. Have each person speak about what comes to mind for 30 seconds. Then switch partners. Group will share out in 1 minute. 60 second Think/Pair/Share Instructions:

11. Simply defined Learner’s Teacher’s Perspective Standards Field Study Perspective

12. What is a field study? The scientific study of wild animals in which the subjects are observed in their natural environment or a zoo setting, without changing, harming, or altering the setting or behavior of the animals being studied.

13. It’s a fancy way of saying: We watch animals. We record what they do without interacting with them.

14. Simply defined Learner’s Teacher’s Perspective Standards Field Study Perspective

15. NYC Performance Standards 2 Life Science Concepts: Demonstrates understanding of regulation and behavior response to stimuli 5. Scientific Thinking: Frames questions to distinguish cause and effect; and identifies or controls variables. 6. Scientific Tools and Technologies: Uses technology to observe and measure organisms, directly, indirectly, and remotely. Collects and analyzes data using concepts in Mathematics Standard 4. Acquires information from multiple sources. Recognizes sources of bias in data. 7. Scientific Communication: Represents data and results in multiple ways. Explains a scientific concept or procedure to other students. Communicates in a form suited to the purpose/audience. 8: Scientific Investigation: Demonstrates competence by completing a field study, design project or secondary research.

16. Simply defined Learner’s Teacher’s Perspective Standards Field Study Perspective

17. Teacher’s Perspective 1.Pre-trip Planning. Does the student understand vocabulary? 2. Question Development. Is my student’s question logistically possible? How can we transform weaker questions into a stronger, possible study? 3. Post-trip assessment. Does this project have all the elements of a solid, scientific inquiry?

18. Simply defined Learner’s Teacher’s Perspective Standards Field Study Perspective

19. That’s why you’re here!

20. Introducing Ethograms: Card Game Activity

21. Your Mission: 1.When everyone has a card. 2.Read your assignment silently 3.Turn over your card face down and begin! 4.Don’t show anyone your card!

22. Ethology: Measuring Behavior

23. What is ETHOLOGY?

24. What is ethology? Ethology is the comparative study of animal behavior.

25. What is behavior? An animal’s response to stimuli. The movements and actions of animals. What an animal does and why it does it.

26. Why study Behavior? Understand how animals live to help protect them –Design protected areas –Better zoos and animal care –Understand ecology and species interactions –Improve captive breeding Understand animals to better understand ourselves

27. How do we study behavior? questions hypothesis background research and/or observations

28. Getting Started: Overview 1.Choose a study animal. 2.Record initial observations and field notes in journal. 3.Determine a question. 4.Create a basic ethogram. 5.Generate and test the hypothesis.

29. Choose a Study Animal Things to Think About: 1.You should choose an animal that can be reliably found and observed. 2.Consider the speed and how the animal moves. (This will assist in choosing a time interval later.)

30. AD LIBITUM sampling An informal, note- taking procedure of as many behavior patterns as you see. Be as descriptive as possible.

31. Asking Questions: Two questions that can be easily measured in a zoo setting are: 1.How does the animal use it ’ s exhibit space? 2.What is the animal doing in it ’ s exhibit space?

32. How are these questions different? Think. Pair. Share!

33. Ethogram A qualitative description of an animal’s normal behavior becomes quantitative data. An inventory of an animal’s behavior. A list of behaviors

34. Measuring Behavior = Sampling Who? Focal or Group How? Continuous –All occurrences Discontinuous –Instantaneous –Scan

35. Forming Behavioral Questions 1.Work with what is available. 2.Start simple. 3.Avoid using human attributes and judgments to describe.

36. Questions? (That’s what today is all about!)