Merit Winner: TMA Excellence in Science Teaching Awards
Loretta Loykasek - Burleson High School, Burleson, Texas
Invertebrate Research Project
Sample Lesson
Lesson Overview
This activity is designed to take up to two weeks, during which
my pre-advanced placement (AP) biology classes employ scientific
laboratory experiences dealing with an invertebrate organism. I
adapted it from information I learned by attending lecture and
research lab activities directed by Charlie Drewes, PhD, from Iowa
State University at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Summer
Institute for high school biology teachers in neurobiology at
Princeton University.
I chose to use invertebrate organisms for this project because
high school students do not know as much about them as they do
about vertebrates; and they are smaller and easier to maintain and
care for in a laboratory setting than are vertebrates. Given
the opportunity to work with live organisms, students
enthusiastically anticipate this project and, once they begin, are
actively engaged in learning.
The project promotes research skills, teamwork, technical
drawing skills, and problem-solving skills as well as an
understanding of the job of a research scientist. Students must
question, research, and develop possible solutions to a real-world
problem that relates to TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills)
objectives and involves higher level thinking skills. Working
in a group of two or three students provides them an opportunity to
work cooperatively and combine their efforts for a common
goal.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this project the student will be able to:
-
Describe the ecological niche, anatomy, physiology, and
behavior of an invertebrate of their choice;
-
Observe the behavior of an invertebrate in a laboratory
setting;
-
Keep a scientific research notebook on an invertebrate
detailing its behavior and responses;
-
Make technical drawings of an invertebrate;
-
Relate their learning experiences to the research
scientist's occupation;
-
Design and conduct a humane, controlled investigation to
determine how an invertebrate reacts to different nonfatal
stimuli such as light and darkness, dry surfaces and wet
surfaces, or food preferences; and
-
Present their findings.
TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) Objectives
- 1A - Demonstrate safe practices during field and laboratory
investigations;
- 2A - Plan and implement investigative procedures including
asking questions, formulating testable hypotheses, and selecting
equipment and technology;
- 2B - Collect data and make measurements with precision;
- 2C - Organize, analyze, evaluate, make inferences and predict
trends from data;
- 2D - Communicate valid conclusions;
- 3D - Describe the connection between biology and future
careers;
- 6D -Compare genetic variations observed in plants and
animals;
- 8C - Identify characteristics of kingdoms including monerans,
protists, fungi, plants, and animals;
- 10A - Interpret the functions of systems in organisms
including circulatory, digestive, excretory, endocrine, nervous,
integumentary, skeletal, reproductive, respiratory, muscular, and
immune;
- 10B - Compare the interrelationships of organ systems to each
other and to the body as a whole;
- 11B - Investigate and identify how organisms respond to
external stimuli;
- 12B - Interpret interactions among organisms exhibiting
predation, parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism; and
- 12D - Identify and illustrate that long-term survival of
species is dependant on a resource base that may be limited.
Materials Used
- Invertebrates such as planaria,
Lumbriculus
, earthworms, snails, centipedes, hermit crabs, fiddler crabs,
crayfish, and
Hydra
either collected locally or ordered from a biological supply
company;
- Containers to house invertebrates;
- Microscope - compound light and stereoscope;
- Magnifying glass;
- Spring water;
- Food for invertebrates;
- Air pump(s);
- Lens paper;
- Petri dish for observation;
- Filter paper for observation;
- Reference materials, Internet, etc.; and
- Any other materials that students may need for the controlled
investigation.
Methods of Implementation
The student researches basic invertebrate care, anatomy,
behavior, and ecology prior to acquisition of the
invertebrates. Students work in research teams of two or
three and are allowed to choose the invertebrate their team will
observe and research. After deciding on the invertebrate, students
on each team develop a list of biological questions concerning the
invertebrate's behavior, anatomy, physiology, and ecology; research
to answer these questions; and log the information in their
scientific research notebooks. Suggested questions concerning
the invertebrate include but are not limited to taxonomy, habitat
and community, niche, anatomical features, aspects of locomotion
and behavior, nutrition and feeding, gas exchange and circulation,
reproduction and development, predator/prey relationships, survival
and the environment, nervous system and special senses, and human
interaction.
Throughout this project I work with the students to answer
questions, guide them when they come to roadblocks, and suggest
solutions to problems that may arise from their research. Each team
is responsible for the care of its invertebrate throughout this
investigation. Individually, each student is responsible for
keeping a scientific research notebook that should include
observations of the organism, drawings of the organism, detailed
descriptions of its behavior, methods used to care for the
organism, research notes and findings, and his or her thoughts and
feelings about this project. Students are given class time to
observe and research this project over a two-week
period. They also are encouraged to observe and work
with their team at other times throughout the duration of the
project in circumstances such as tutorials, before school, after
school, and at lunch. The scientific research notebook
is turned in at the conclusion of this activity.
Evaluation
- Students will receive up to 25 points for development of
biological questions, research, and recording of biological
questions concerning the invertebrate they choose. To
receive the full 25 points, students must include a works-cited
list to indicate where they found the information regarding the
invertebrate.
- Students will receive up to 40 points for their scientific
research notebook. To receive the full 40 points, student
notebooks must include detailed observations, research notes, and
precise scientific diagrams/drawings of the invertebrate.
- Students will receive up to 25 points for their controlled
investigation. To receive the full 25 points, students must
include a detailed description of the controlled investigation
and its results in their research notebook.
- Students will receive up to 10 points for group
dynamics. To receive the full 10 points, a data sheet must
be attached to the research notebook outlining each group
member's contribution to the project. All members are
expected to contribute equally to this endeavor.
Description of What Makes Lesson Effective
If you were to ask my former students which lab or activity they
learned from and enjoyed the most during their year in pre-AP
biology, the answer would be the invertebrate research
project. This process causes the students to work
cooperatively as a team, hones research and questioning skills, and
forces them to think at higher levels; but it is also a lot of
fun! This is a much-anticipated activity for my ninth-grade
pre-AP biology students - they hear about it from friends,
siblings, and me. One of the first questions I get at the
beginning of the year is, "When are we going to get to work with
the live animals?" I constantly remind students
about the project throughout the year as they develop their skills
in biological drawings, data collection, and detailed written,
laboratory reports. The enthusiasm and energy that the
students give to this project makes it one of the most valuable and
memorable learning experiences of their freshman year.
Extensions
- Student teams may present their findings about their
invertebrate to the class in a 15-30 minute oral
presentation.
- This activity could be adapted for use with vertebrates.
Students would research a vertebrate residing at the local zoo,
and then spend time observing the animal in its zoo
habitat. Instead of a scientific research notebook,
students would be required to keep a field notebook with all of
their observations, research notes, drawings, and
conclusions. This would give them field biology experience
to enhance their understanding of the interrelationships within
the biological world.
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