RESEARCH COORDINATION NETWORK IN UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY EDUCATION (RCN-UBE):
AKDatUM
The goal of this incubator award is to enhance the quantitative skills of undergraduate biology students in Alaska by developing online educational tools focused on the state’s changing environment; a topic relevant to Alaska’s underserved student populations. A network of undergraduate biology instructors, scientists, and data providers will develop educational modules that incorporate online, publicly-available data sources. Working together, network participants will design, create, and distribute online educational materials focused on Alaskan climate, permafrost thaw, forest dynamics, and animal and plant populations in order to assist undergraduate inquiry and learning at levels from non-majors to seniors. Funded by NSF Award 2120710.
AIM-UP!
From 2010-2015, I have led or co-led seminars (see below) to explore the use of natural history collections in undergraduate research with my colleagues Dr. Joe Cook (Professor & Curator of Mammals, University of New Mexico); Dr. Eileen Lacey (Professor & Curator of Mammals, University of California, Berkeley) and Dr. Scott Edwards (Professor & Curator of Birds, Harvard University) on the NSF-sponsored Research Coordination Network AIM-UP! (Advancing Integration of Museums into Undergraduate Programs). These seminars and classes have provided opportunities to integrate several kinds of information, to give the students both an appreciation of the complexity of issues involved in contemporary phylogenetic research using museum collections, and an overall historical context for how different disciplines of organismal biology address similar problems of morphological variation in a geographical context.
AIM-UP! Annual meeting at Sevilleta, NM, 24 Jan. 2015.
Teaching modules I developed using museum collections:
Check out some of these very inspiring videos on the use of collections in teaching, which have resulted from this RCN.
- Meet A Curator: Dr. Rick Williams
- Faculty Perspectives: The Value of Collections in the Classroom
- Student Perspectives: Collections as an Untapped Teaching Tool
CURRENT COURSES:
2021-2022
BIOL331/697 Systematic Botany (stacked undergraduate, graduate students, spring, online delivery)
This 3- credit online focusses on the classification of flowering plants with an emphasis on Alaskan flora; familiarity with taxonomy (identification, nomenclature, classification), evolution (speciation, reproductive biology, adaptation, convergence, biogeography) and phylogenetics (morphology and molecules). The lab emphasizes learning representative families and genera of Alaskan flora using keys and manuals in conjunction with specimens from our virtual herbarium.
A student who successfully completes BIOL F331 should gain the ability to: 1. Discover and classify plant diversity found in Alaska and beyond. 2. Describe and explain the major features and the evolutionary origin of vascular plants. 3. Interpret and evaluate the analytical and experimental tools to understand organismal diversity of plants. 4. Use and apply the vocabulary of plant description. 5. Contribute to biodiversity documentation through the iNaturalist citizen science platform. 6. Identify plants using dichotomous keys. 7. Recognize the major selected gymnosperm, and angiosperm families in Alaska.
BIOL195 Introduction to Flora of AK (undergraduate, summer, online delivery). One of the hallmarks of systematic botany course is the hands-on learning experience in lab. To create a similar lab experience for the online offering, we have carefully chosen technology that will allow students from all over the state (and even outside Alaska) to collect data, perform plant dissections and have a hands-on learning experience within the flora’s native environment. Instead of traditional course materials like textbooks, students will purchase an inexpensive wide-angle macro lens that connects to their smartphone or tablet. This 2-inch lens lets students take high-resolution, detailed photos of flora on the go. The technology not only lets students mimic lab spaces in their own areas but also expands their digital networks through the submission of images to iNaturalist, enabling them to share and collaborate with enthusiasts around the world. Students don’t just sit at their computers in this class. They must get outside, touch with their hands and share what they discover. This course is an exciting intersection of curiosity for wild plants, an exploration of Alaska’s plant communities and an accessible introduction to the science of botany.
MSM221/497 Fundamentals of Museum studies I (stacked undergraduate, graduate students, fall & spring, online delivery)
This course will introduce students to the origin, structure and development of museums, types of museums and their functions, professional directions and ethics. We will review collection management systems and techniques, as well as discuss the role and ethics of museum conservation. Part of the fundamentals series with MSM F212. By virtue of its geography with an Arctic/Northern focus, with vibrant Indigenous populations and scholars, and the ability to combine natural and social sciences with humanities, the University of Alaska Museum of the North and its dedicated faculty curators, collection managers, and staff will deliver an engaging, multi-disciplinary course while exposing students to museum exhibits, collection management, and education in the digital era.
2019-2020
MSM221/497 Fundamentals of Museum studies I (stacked undergraduate, graduate students, fall & spring, online delivery)
BIOL195 Introduction to Alaska Flora (undergraduate, summers, online delivery)
Botany course turns students’ surroundings into a lab
2018
BIOL644 Advanced Topics in Evolution: Citizen Science and Big Data (Graduate student seminar, alternating Spring)
3 credits, Spring, Murie 230, web-enabled, M 2:15-5:15 p.m.
This 3 credit graduate student seminar course will read and discuss a lot of the primary literature as it pertains to the subject, including mostly recent papers from within the last couple of years. We will consider the pros & cons of citizen science in research using big data; data quality; citizen science in conservation; motivation and psychology; success & failures; best practices; volunteer engagement; gamification and other aspects of citizen science. The overall goal is to increase graduate student knowledge, understanding and familiarity with including citizen science in research projects, and to gain a working familiarity both with the recent citizen science literature and how it relates to their specific field(s) of research.
2016
BIOL644 Advanced Topics in Evolution: Biogeography – reconstructing patterns of diversification (Graduate student seminar, alternating Spring)
3 credits, Spring, Murie 230, web-enabled, M 2:15-5:15 p.m.
This graduate student seminar course will read and discuss a lot of the primary literature as it pertains to the subject, including mostly recent papers from within the last couple of years. We will consider the basic science of biogeographic inference, but we will also highlight in detail some of the software approaches currently being used in biogeographic inference (e.g., Lagrange, BEAST & BEAUTI, RASP) as well as bioinformatics computing portals such as CIPRES and the ARSC computing portal to run jobs.
MRAP288 Museum Research Apprenticeship (undergraduate course)
PREVIOUS COURSES:
2015-17
BIOL195 Introduction to Alaska’s Flora (Summer session undergraduate course)
BIOL 330 Systematic Botany (major’s course, alternating Spring)
Last year we developed some teaching modules using the Learning Glass at eLearning. Here are some examples on the gymnosperm life cycle and the angiosperm life cycle.
Gymnosperm life cycle (Ovulate) – click on the image to watch the video
Gymnosperm life cycle (Staminate)
Gymnosperm life cycle (Fertilization)
2014
BIOL644 Advanced Topics in Evolution: Biogeography – reconstructing patterns of diversification (Graduate student seminar, alternating Spring)
BIOL692 SEM: Human Dimensions of Natural History. A web-enabled seminar at UNM streamed to UAF, UC Berkeley and Harvard as part of AIM-UP! with participating institutions having students enrolled.
MRAP288 Museum Research Apprenticeship (undergraduate course)
2012
BIOL692 SEM: Integrating Morphological and Geographic Variation into the Classroom, a web-enabled seminar at UAF streamed to University of New Mexico (UNM), UC Berkeley and Harvard as part of AIM-UP! with participating institutions having students enrolled.
2007-2012
BIOL 330 Systematic Botany (major’s course, Spring, UAF)
Publications:
Ickert-Bond, S.M., C. Bouffard. 2019. To go where only Don Pinkava could go -and beyond: delivering an online systematic botany course in Alaska. Colloquium: Donald J. Pinkava’s legacy – the ASU Herbarium in the Sonoran Desert. Botany 2019. Botanical Society of America Meeting, Tuscon, AZ. Jul 26-31. [Link]
**Anderson, K.L. , Kaden, U., Druckenmiller, P.S., Fowell, S., **Spangler, M., Huettmann, F., Ickert-Bond, S.M. 2017. Arctic science education using public museum collections from the University of Alaska Museum: An evolving and expanding landscape. Arctic Science 3: 635-653. [Link]
Lacey, E.A., Hammond, T.T., Bell, K., Edwards, S.V., Ellwood, L., Guralnick, R., Ickert-Bond, S.M., Mast, A., McCormack, J., Monfils, A., Soltis, P.S., Soltis, D.S., Cook, J.A. 2017. Climate change, collections and the classroom: Using big data to tackle big problems. Evolution: Education and Outreach 2017:2 DOI:10.1186/s12052-017-0065-3. [Link]
Cook, J.A., Lacey E.A., Ickert-Bond, S.M., Hoberg, E.P., Galbreath, K.E., Bell, K.C., Greiman, S.E., McLean, B.S., Edwards, S. 2016. From museum cases to the classroom: Emerging opportunities for specimen-based education. Pp In Pavlinov, I., ed. “Aspects of Biodiversity” Archives of Zoological Museum of Lomonosov Moscow State University 54: 787–799. [Link]
Cook, J.A., Edwards, S.V., Lacey, E., Guralnick, R.P., Soltis, P.S., Soltis, D.E., Welch, C., Bell, K.C., Galbreath, K.E., Himes, C., Allen, J.M., Heath, T.A., Carnaval, A.C., Cooper, K.L., Liu, M., Hanken, J., Ickert-Bond, S.M. 2014. Natural history collections as emerging resources for innovative education. BioScience 64: 725-734. [Link]