Laboratory Exercises in Animal Behavior - Preface
We have developed the exercises in this lab manual with a number goals in mind. First, we wanted to use a variety of animals, and ask a variety of questions about them, to demonstrate some of the diversity of subject matter in animal behavior. Second, we wanted to present our exercises in a developmental sequence, which will help students to learn and incorporate the key elements of the scientific method. Third, knowing what school budgets and facilities are these days, we wanted to present exercises that require minimal expenditures and equipment. And finally, we attempted to choose exercises that would be educational, fun, and memorable. We believe that the best way to teach science and to recruit potential scientists is to show students what "real life" science is all about. Science isn't memorizing a bunch of facts from a textbook-science is a process and a method of inquiry that is designed to answer existing questions and pose new ones. Science is dynamic and ever-changing, despite its general perception as dry and fixed. For this reason, our exercises differ from traditional laboratory exercises. Each is designed to address a question or a set of questions, but none has a particular, "right" answer. Animal behaviorists have learned that often many answers are right in some respects, and almost all are wrong in some ways or in some situations. The important thing is not whether a particular answer is right or wrong, but rather the process by which new information is generated. In addition, each exercises requires, to an increasing extent, the students to play an active role in designing aspects of the exercise. This role shifts the students from passive spectators to active participants in the process of scientific investigation and gives them "hands-on" experience with real science.
The exercises contained in this book are modified versions of laboratory exercises developed by biologists, psychologists, and anthropologists who study and teach animal behavior at colleges and universities. These animal behaviorists have generously donated their work to us. We have changed their exercises to make them appropriate for high school students and their facilities, and we take sole responsibility for the content and organization of this book. We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of our colleagues, however, because we could not have compiled these exercises without their help. The donations that resulted in this lab manual demonstrate that animal behavior is a cooperative and collaborative discipline, and we have attempted to foster a cooperative and collaborative learning environment in our exercises.Preface
The exercises contained in this lab manual are intended for students in advanced high school courses in biology. Although some of the exercises would work well in 9th or 10th grade general biology, a somewhat more advanced audience would probably benefit more from the approach we have taken. A knowledge of general biology would help students to appreciate the study of animal behavior, and to place animal behavior in the larger context of biological investigation. We should also note that some of the exercises in this manual adopt an explicitly evolutionary approach to the study of animal behavior. This approach is an accurate reflection of the field of animal behavior, and we believe that the inclusion of an evolutionary approach is essential to a thorough understanding of biology as a science. We realize, however, that this approach will be controversial with some students and some parents (not to mention some school boards), so we suggest to instructors that you explicitly mention this approach when you recruit students for the course. If your district has concerns about an explicit emphasis on evolution (which we believe are misplaced), then you might ask students and their parents to sign permission forms before the students register for the course.
We have developed the exercises in this lab manual with a number goals in mind. First, we wanted to use a variety of animals, and ask a variety of questions about them, to demonstrate some of the diversity of subject matter in animal behavior. Second, we wanted to present our exercises in a developmental sequence, which will help students to learn and incorporate the key elements of the scientific method. Third, knowing what school budgets and facilities are these days, we wanted to present exercises that require minimal expenditures and equipment. And finally, we attempted to choose exercises that would be educational, fun, and memorable. We believe that the best way to teach science and to recruit potential scientists is to show students what "real life" science is all about. Science isn't memorizing a bunch of facts from a textbook-science is a process and a method of inquiry that is designed to answer existing questions and pose new ones. Science is dynamic and ever-changing, despite its general perception as dry and fixed. For this reason, our exercises differ from traditional laboratory exercises. Each is designed to address a question or a set of questions, but none has a particular, "right" answer. Animal behaviorists have learned that often many answers are right in some respects, and almost all are wrong in some ways or in some situations. The important thing is not whether a particular answer is right or wrong, but rather the process by which new information is generated. In addition, each exercises requires, to an increasing extent, the students to play an active role in designing aspects of the exercise. This role shifts the students from passive spectators to active participants in the process of scientific investigation and gives them "hands-on" experience with real science.
The exercises contained in this book are modified versions of laboratory exercises developed by biologists, psychologists, and anthropologists who study and teach animal behavior at colleges and universities. These animal behaviorists have generously donated their work to us. We have changed their exercises to make them appropriate for high school students and their facilities, and we take sole responsibility for the content and organization of this book. We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of our colleagues, however, because we could not have compiled these exercises without their help. The donations that resulted in this lab manual demonstrate that animal behavior is a cooperative and collaborative discipline, and we have attempted to foster a cooperative and collaborative learning environment in our exercises.
Finally, we view this manual as a work in progress. We would appreciate, therefore, any suggestions, materials, and examples from our high school colleagues.
Rebecca R. Brooks,
Brimfield High School,
Brimfield, Illinois
61517 USA.
and
Ken Yasukawa,
Beloit College,
Department of Biology,
700 College Street,
Beloit, Wisconsin
53511 USA.
