After a great deal of consideration and some consternation, I decided to give my lesson on the subject of general ecology and the basic ecological problems that are of greatest concern to humankind today. I felt this topic was suitable for a number of reasons. First, I wanted to steer clear of certain kinds or levels of controversy, and yet to treat a topic that still has controversial claims for or against. I wanted a topic that could serve as a touchstone for students to discuss and think about basic relationships and issues in their world, and how these issues might relate to their own personal lives in some manner. In general, I've found ecology allows learning of basic academic skills, critical thinking, and offers the potential of extending this thinking to application to real world problem sets and situations. Also, I wanted to deal with a problem set that would invite further inquiry and possible application in larger context, which ecology generally serves well. I've found that though ecology has been a buzzword for many years now, few people seriously study or understand the real issues or the basic concepts that inform ecology. I think junior high to High school age is a good time to introduce these issues in a serious and interesting manner, and I do not think students get this kind of knowledge enough.

I set two main objectives in my lesson plan. First, I wanted to introduce the students to the basic principles and brief overview informing all of ecology, relating to how living systems interfunction in natural contexts. Secondly, I wanted to introduce students, through these basic principles, to an understanding of some of the more pressing and important dilemmas that confront humankind today, focusing on the issues of global warming, without raising their anxiety levels any higher than they are already probably elevated. Ecology as a science is politically neutral--it is not terrorism or race, and yet ecological problems are anything but politically neutral.

My lesson ran to about 30 minutes time, and I found I only got halfway through to the problem set. I basically only accomplished the first half of my objectives, and if I were to teach this subject again in the future, I would divide this dual goal lesson into two separate lessons that are interrelated. I found that the students, even of college level experience, knew less and had less experience with this subject than I otherwise expected, and was frankly surprised. I expected to cover too much conceptual ground too quickly.

I think the lesson went over better than I thought at the time, and I believe the strength of the lesson was inherent to the strength and natural interest that the topic itself holds for most people, whether they may be for or against basic ecological issues. The evaluations were better than I expected, though I do not think because of my own planning and organization.

I believe if I was to teach this lesson over again, I would engage the students in greater discussion, especially relating to the second half. I would even arrange a debate for the students around the basic issues to provide them with a forum for developing greater communication skills as well as critical thinking skills. I did not have enough time, and I covered too much general ground too rapidly to be able to improve things. Next time, I would make a better effort to include audio-visual aides. I was intending to bring in a globe and have the students participate in a demonstration of the earth's rotation around the sun, but I had forgotten the globe as I went out to school in the morning. I need to improve my performance and more direct delivery of concepts through explanation and exemplification. I think experience teaching a topic invites rapid improvement in this way. Otherwise, I would say that, given the constraints of time, the micro-lesson worked out all right.

Because of my own background and experience, I believe my greatest challenge will be in keeping knowledge and problem sets on a basic enough level that students are able to easily follow along without getting lost in all the permutations or details of the topic. I am used to working on a fairly sophisticated level, and I can be surprised and a little bit frustrated if I find that the class is not normally operating on this level. On the other hand, I think even low achieving students can be taught and enticed into functioning, for a little while at least, upon a level that is more sophisticated and differentiated with knowledge than they are normally used to dealing with. I think I need to develop greater skills in interacting and setting up lesson plans that involve participation and active involvement of the students.

In conclusion, I would say that the lesson plan went both better than expected and worse than expected. I was surprised that the other students who evaluated me seemed not to mind my performance as a teacher as much as I thought they would, or as much as I minded myself. On the other hand, I realized quickly that I had bought off more than could be reasonably chewed in a half-hour due to the intrinsic complexity and scale of the issues that were under discussion. Overall, I would say that teaching these topics is encouraging and interesting for both students and teachers alike, and deserve to be further pursued as a means for developing new kinds of teaching methods and new kinds of teaching approaches around these kinds of issues. I learned that I can teach effectively under the right circumstances, but that it requires a thorough knowledge of one's topic to teach it well. I need to improve and develop my own communication skills, as I've been out of practice with these, especially over the last three years.

Micro-Teaching Lesson Plan

Ecology in General Overview

Objective: The purpose of this lesson is to teach a broad overview of ecology as both a scientific discipline and as an emerging concern for people in the world, and to give to the students an informed understanding of the critical issues involved in general problems related to global ecology and ecological systems in general.

Introduction Set: Explain what is a biological community. Compare the management and operation of a biological community to the management and operation of a house hold, or to the management and operation of a city or state. Explain why successful management of a living community is important. Explain the principle of dynamic equilibrium and its importance for maintaining populations within community frameworks.

Explain the important cycles relating to global ecology: Explain the hydrologic cycle, the oxygen and carbon cycles. Explain the nitrogen cycle.

Explain the role of the sun in providing energy for living systems. What is photosynthesis and how does photosynthesis relate to energy production and utilization.

Explain the role of trophic pyramids and food chains and the transfer of energy up food webs. Explain the relationship between the different kingdoms of life.

Inquiry Set:

A. How have human beings influenced different biological communities and ecologies? Can you name different ways that human activity has had a biological consequence?

1. Pollution: Name some forms of pollution and how these various forms have affected

2. Desertification and Soil Loss: Describe how agricultural soil becomes eroded and lost due to extensive and poor farm management practices.

3. Deforestation.

4. Urban Development and habitat loss.

5. Fishing and loss of species biodiversity.

6. Petrochemical industries and global warming.

7. The Ozone layer and the increase in short wave UV radiation and its consequences

B. How can we take action to make things better? What kinds of energy alternatives exist that we may be using in the future. How have we tried to keep some endangered species from going into extinction?

Give some examples: the American bald eagle, the California Condor, the California Golden Oak; the Giant Sequoia; the North American brown bear, the Arctic musk ox, the Chinese Panda bear, the African Rhinoceros, the Highland Gorilla, the Southeast Asian Hippopatamus, the Asian tiger.

Name species of animals that are not endangered because of human activity and encroachment, and discuss why some species and kinds of plant and animal flourish in human contact situations: White-tailed deer populations; coyotes; crows; rats; cock roaches.

Discussion Set: Have students discuss the pros and cons of different policies relating to ecology. Have students form debating teams and organize a formal debate relating to a set of ecological issues that the students believe are most important. Use the Alaskan example. How does ecology affect international and domestic issues?

What can be done to help protect and preserve our wild and natural resources?

Follow Thru: Suggested activities:

1. Take students on a fieldtrip to a place to study ecological relationships in a natural setting.

2. Have students undertake or research a conservation project and do a report of their project or research.

Suggested research topics would depend upon the level of the student and their interest. It can range from a report on various kinds of endangered animals, to making poster-sized diagrams of global warming or natural cycles.

There are many useful books, web pages and other published information that I would utilize. I would make available National Geographic magazine and Scientific American magazine articles that spans many years, as well as many other useful resources such as those publications from the Worldwatch Institute. I would try to make other graphic materials available that are pertinent to the subject. I would attempt to provide basic experiments demonstrating various facets of ecological processes.

On-going Class Projects: Set up a makeshift greenhouse/terrarium system and have students study the relationships that occur between life forms they observe in the system.

Basic Eco-Trophic Relationships of Living systems

Basic Interdependencies of the Biosphere

Green House Gases & Global Warming