We are in the thick of it

We are working hard on our bird investigations. The Thanksgiving break slowed some people down and for others, it gave them time to get started. We are in the process of catching up and getting everyone at about the same point. Some folks have collected all their data and are analyzing it and figuring out how to present their results. Some folks are ready to start collecting data this week. We hope to have it all finished this week and everyone's results posted on the wikispace by this weekend or early next week. We split the classes into Research Study Teams of 3-4 students. These groups will focus on giving feedback specifically to each other to help them refine their work and make it even better. If you go to the wikipage, be sure to check out the discussions.

Bird Investigations Ongoing

We have been working this week on our Bird Investigations. Check out the wikispace and visit each students' page (http://cfsbirds-2010.wikispaces.com) to see what they are doing for their projects. We have been working on peer reviews to help everyone clarify their guiding questions, formulate hypotheses, identify independent and dependent variables, determine materials needed, and develop good procedures. Each student is required to visit and comment on at least 5 other pages and to read the comments that they have recieved. Some students may be ready to start their investigations this weekend or by the beginning of next week. When we return after Thanksgiving we will wrap up our data collection and start analyzing our results. We will practice using different graphs to show our results in different ways.

Starting Bird Projects

This week we have been getting started on a new project that will take us into December. Each student is going to develop a question about birds and bird behavior. Then they will figure out how to answer that question through either systematic observation, an experiment, or analyzing data about birds. We will be posting our work on the internet at http://www.cfsbirds-2010.wikispaces.com. This week we are concentrating on developing our questions and deciding on what makes an investigible question.

Ecology Unit Test

We had our Ecology Unit Test today. It went pretty well. Everyone finished in the time allotted and most people attempted the bonus questions. We should get them back by Monday.

Cane Toads

Today and on Wednesday we are watching Cane Toads, An Unnatural History. This documentary, made in 1987, outlines the unusual history of how Cane Toads were introduced into Australia in 1935 and now they are out of control. We took notes on the film and had a short discussion of their impact on the Australian Ecosystem. Here is a link to Googledocs for the Study Guide: Cane Toad Study Guide with Answers.

Study Guide for Ecology

Thursday and Friday we looked at some invasive species here on campus (Princess Tree and Chinese Privet) that were planted as ornamentals and now have turned into difficult trees to get rid of. We also began to review for the Ecology test. We looked at the format of an old test and started going over the study guide. Today we continued to review for the Unit Test on Friday, November 5th. We took a practice test. You can download that here: Eco Practice Test. We continued going over the questions on the Study Guide. The Guide and answers to most of the questions can be downloaded here: Eco Test Study Guide. We will watch the movie, Cane Toads: An Unnatural History tomorrow and Wednesday in class. It is a documentary about the impact of the Cane Toads in Australia. In many ways it is a perfect "Invasion Machine" and the movie does a good job of telling the story of how it was introduced and the impact that has followed. It also shows how some people in Queensland have become quite attached to the creatures.