Fireweed and Seals, oh my! Mini Cases in Population Ecology
At a Glance
Discipline
- STEM
- Biology
Instructional Level
- College & CEGEP
- University
Course
- General Biology I
- Population Ecology
Tasks in Workflow
Social Plane(s)
- Individual
- Group
Type of Tasks
- Discussing
- Reading
- Taking a quiz & test
Technical Details
Useful Technologies
- Clicker System
Class size
- Small (20-49)
Time
- Single class period (< 90 mins)
Instructional Purpose
- Application & knowledge building
- Assessment & knowledge refinement
Overview
In this activity students are introduced to the population ecology of plants and animals via a pair of mini case studies.
Outside of class, students prepare for the exercise with readings, viewing videos (see below) and taking a brief online quiz.
In class, while working in groups, the students discuss and apply what they’ve learned by answering a series of questions relating to the use of fireweed in remediating oil spills and the setting of quotas for seal harvests.
Videos:
Instructional Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Define population growth and population types
- Define cellular respiration and how it can be quantified
- Analyze data and produce a graph
Workflow & Materials
Activity Workflow
Contributor's Notes
The flipped classroom approach allows for more time in class for discussion and peer instruction.
Monitoring the progress of the groups while providing support.
- Give plenty of examples.
- Circulate and help students while they work.
Applied Strategies
Published: 13/08/2019
Copyright: © 2025 Awad. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication on this website is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.