NCSU VMC 991 sec 255 Introduction to Conservation Health – Spring 2015

Course syllabus and schedule (PDF): I created this syllabus and schedule, which was provided to the students (in a slightly modified template) as part of the selective course catalog and prior to the start of the course through the course website.  All of the readings, presentations, handouts, links, etc. were organized on the course website and provided after completion of the course on a USB drive.  My goals were to provide the students with a clear purpose for the course, my expectations, and an easy reference for the schedule and required readings.  I successfully provided a wide variety of learning experiences and was able to bring in local experts that the students may otherwise have not had contact with.  As submission of the syllabus was required months before the specific content and lectures was finalized and this was a new course, some of the course objectives were not fulfilled as completely as I had originally planned.  Having run the course, I would update some of the objectives to focus more on what can actively be done to encourage conservation health.

Share this on Twitter in-class activity (PDF): This in-class activity was used after the introductory lecture on the first day of class as an ice breaker for the first discussion.  The students were required to read two articles before class with opposing views on the impact zoos and aquariums on conservation.  This related back to the course learning objectives regarding veterinarians as educated and generally trusted experts on a wide variety of mainstream issues and recognizing the human dimensions on both sides of an argument.  This activity worked well to get the students talking and condense what they had read into very short summaries.  It also allowed me to assess who had done the required readings and brought to light a technological issue some students had getting the readings early on in the course.

Leopold’s land ethic word summary classroom assessment technique: In the afternoon after the stream cleanup service project, we viewed a documentary about Aldo Leopold.  Prior to class they were also required to read Leopold’s “Land Ethic” from A Sand County Almanac and Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons.”  Each student was given an index card and had 5 minutes to choose a single word that summarized Leopold’s land ethic, write a single sentence why he/she chose the word or how it fit his/her definition of a land ethic, and give an analogy to help explain Leopold’s land ethic to someone unfamiliar with the concept.  I collected the cards and was able to assess student participation and potential areas of confusion, which were addressed in the discussion that followed.  The results of this activity were a springboard for discussion and helped the students see how there were differing viewpoints, even among their classmates.