Short Summary
Class Information
Availability
Upcoming Session Dates (6-week class)
- Fall 2024 Session #2: October 28-December 15, 2024**
- Spring 2025 Session #1: January 6-February 16, 2025
- Spring 2025 Session #2: February 17-March 30, 2025
- Spring 2025 Session #3: March 31-May 18, 2025**
- Join the mailing list for future enrollment dates
**Break weeks 11/25-12/1 and 4/14-4/20, no materials assigned and no live office hours.
This class has optional, live, weekly, online office hours on Thursday from 10-10:55 am CDT/CST
Description
Birds have evolved the ability to live in nearly every habitat on earth. Despite changing external environments they are able to maintain homeostasis and regulate their internal systems effectively and efficiently. This course focuses on learning not only the name and location of bird anatomy, but also understanding the physiology of how these anatomical parts function within body systems and how systems of the body interact to enable all of the aspects of avian life including flight and movement, thermoregulation, respiration, song, metabolism, and reproduction while sensing and responding to a changing external environment. We will also take a look at the microstructures of bones, muscles, lungs, and nerves in order to understand how these components perform their functions at a microscopic level. In this course students will gain a firm foundation in avian anatomy and physiology that will help them better understand the behavior and ecology of birds all around them.
Course Topic Outline:
Week 1: Musculoskeletal System
A bird’s skeleton provides a framework for muscle attachment and together the skeleton and muscles support the weight of the bird, protect its body, and help it move and fly.
Week 2: Circulatory, Endocrine, Lymphatic, and Immune Systems
A bird’s circulatory system is a network of vessels and organs that works with other body systems to distribute oxygen, nutrients, hormones, antibodies, and heat while also removing waste products.
Week 3: Respiratory System and Vocal Apparatus
A bird’s respiratory system includes lungs and many air sacs that exchange gasses and deliver oxygen efficiently to the circulatory system.
Week 4: Digestive System and Urogenital System
A bird’s digestive system allows it to take in nutrients and eliminate waste. The urogenital system contains a urinary system for removal of nitrogenous wastes as well as a reproductive system.
Week 5: Nervous System and Senses
A bird’s nervous system transmits sensory stimuli, stimulates motor responses, and regulates body functions. Birds have many senses for detecting changes in their environment.
Week 6: Final Project
Complete a creative project to demonstrate learning.
Class Components:
This class is hosted independently using Google Classroom and Google Meet. Students must have a Google email to enroll.
Weekly Office Hour:
Each week, students may choose to participate in an optional, live, 55-minute office hour for instructor support and interaction with other students taking courses in the Ornithologist in Training Course Series. During this time, students may ask the instructor questions, work on course materials independently, or work on course materials with other students in small groups. The office hour begins with a brief greeting and goal-setting session to help students identify their goals for the office hour session and ends with a brief opportunity to share learning insights and course material progress.
Weekly Lessons:
Each Monday morning students receive a link to an interactive lesson using Pear Deck. Lessons are designed to take 30-45 minutes to complete. Pear Deck lessons include slide visuals, audio recordings, video, and website links to explore as well as opportunities for students to respond to questions and prompts embedded in the lesson. Students receive instructor feedback on their lesson responses.
Weekly Quizzes:
Each Monday morning students receive a link to a 10 question quiz. Quizzes are “open notes”, and students may refer to the Pear Deck lesson and any additional notes. Quizzes are designed to take 15-20 minutes, and provide immediate feedback for students may use to check their understanding of the course material.
Weekly Assignments:
Assignments allow students to extend the lesson or synthesize what they have learned by completing a hands-on activity, lab, scientific paper analysis, and/or a classroom discussion. Weekly assignments are designed to take about 30-45 minutes to complete and receive feedback from the instructor.
Final Project:
The final project is completed during the last week of the course. Final projects should integrate knowledge and understanding from at least 2 lessons and will require the student to create something new. Final projects can take many forms, including but not limited to: a 3-D model/craft, artwork, an infographic, a video, a photo collage, etc… Students will be provided with project examples and a guideline rubric at the beginning of the week. Projects are designed to take 1-2 hours to complete. Students will share their work and comment on one another’s projects through a discussion post. Students receive individual feedback from the instructor based on the guidelines in the rubric.
Notes About Assignments and Grades:
All assignments submitted on time will receive individual feedback from the instructor. Grades are optional in this course and the grading scale and grading methods are specified in the course syllabus. Students who wish to receive a grade (percentage and letter grade) should notify the instructor by the start of the 2nd week of class. The full course syllabus will be provided on the first day of class and is available early upon request.
Ornithologist in Training Curriculum Series
This course is part of the Ornithologist in Training Curriculum Series, a rigorous, multi-year ornithology curriculum culminating in the development of skills in independent ornithology field research and college-prep scientific writing. Each course in the Ornithologist in Training Curriculum Series may be taken as a stand-alone course, or in series using any order.
Learners seeking a comprehensive multi-year curriculum in Ornithology may want to consider taking two courses that pair together in one semester. Here is an example of how a learner could use the Ornithologist in Training curriculum series to take 3 full years of ornithology courses:
- Year 1, Semester 1: The Evolution of Birds
- The Origin and Diversification of Birds (6 weeks, 1.5-2.5 hr per week)
- Bird Evolutionary Biology and Systematics (6 weeks, 1.5-2.5 hr per week)
- Year 1, Semester 2: Bird Anatomy, Physiology, and Adaptations for Flight
- Bird Anatomy and Physiology (6 weeks, 1.5-2 .5 hr per week)
- Bird Feathers and Flight (6 weeks, 1.5-2.5 hr per week)
- Year 2, Semester 1: Bird Behavior
- Bird Foraging Behavior (6 weeks, 1.5-2 .5 hr per week) - under development
- Breeding Biology of Birds (6 weeks, 1.5-2 .5 hr per week) - under development
- Year 2, Semester 2: Ecology of Birds
- Bird Migration and Dispersal (6 weeks, 1.5-2 .5 hr per week) - under development
- Bird Population and Community Ecology (6 weeks, 1.5-2 .5 hr per week) - under development
- Year 3, Semester 1: Avian Research and Scientific Writing (12 weeks, 3-4 hr per week)
- Year 3, Semester 2: Mentoring in Field Research and Scientific Writing: After completing the course Avian Research and Scientific Writing, dedicated ornithology students often use subsequent semesters to refine their scientific writing/presentation skills and pursue research interests through the 1-to-1 independent research mentoring opportunities.
Neurodivergency Specializations and Accommodations
This course is geared toward learners of all types.
Assignment and Course Materials Accommodations
- We all learn in different ways, and I am happy to modify assignments and course materials to remove barriers that may be making it difficult for students to learn in this class.
- I keep my course sizes small, allowing me to tailor course materials to individual learner needs.
- Please feel welcome, at any time, to reach out to me to discuss any challenges your learner is facing and how I can help through course modifications and accommodations. You are always welcome to suggest a modification to an assignment or a course materials accommodation that will help your learner.
There are some helpful tools/features that are already built into this course to help support students with diverse learning needs.
Course tool/feature: | This can help support students with: |
Pear Deck lessons include illustrative images, audio recordings, and written notes on each slide. Students receive a review sheet with each slide and their response on the interactive questions. A full copy of the notes on each slide may be requested in advance. | Auditory Processing Disorder, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia |
Interactive slides are incorporated into Pear Deck lessons to check for individual understanding and maintain engagement. | ADHD |
Students may complete all course materials (lessons, quizzes, assignments, etc....) at their own pace within the week in which they were assigned. The instructor is also generous with due date extensions when life happens :) | Anxiety, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia |
Several options exist for students to submit lab/assignment responses including printing and writing by hand, completing electronically, etc... | Autism, Dysgraphia |
Expectations and due dates are communicated clearly through the use of a course syllabus, assignment/lab directions that include background information as well as a step-by-step procedure, rubrics for writing and project assignments. | ADHD, Anxiety, Autism |
Optional, Live, office hours provide instructor support and peer interaction with several different supervised "room" options that will allow learners to find their ideal learning environment including a quiet work room, small group work rooms, and opportunities to ask the instructor questions. | ADHD, Anxiety, Autism |