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Julie Bokor has just published a nice paper describing the 3D fossil horse study set and lesson plan. Check it out in the attached pdf.
This is such a great lesson. I had a great time testing it out at the 3D Digitization workshop last June. Working with the calipers, then graphing the results was very fun, and you could really see the difference in grazing patterns over time based on the teeth!
I also added the paper to the K-12 section of the myFOSSIL “Resources.” Hopefully many educators and outreach specialists will utilize this great fossil-based lesson plan!
I was just able to implement this super cool lesson with an AP biology student I’m tutoring; even though we didn’t have the study set of FLMNH specimens, we were able to complete a good chunk of Lesson 1 and the beginning of Lesson 2. My student used a caliper to just practice measuring the paper Eohippus tooth, and I gave him the hypsodont index answer key to practice making a graph.
Looking forward to the part where Bruce’s email comes in, that’s a really cool way to bring the PBL element into the lesson plans!
Awesome news, Tara! @bmacfadden – Should we invite the paper’s authors Julie Bokor, Jessica Mahoney, and Jennifer Sunderman-Broo to join myFOSSIL and participate in this forum?
Tara–this is awesome!
Yes we should invite them to participate. There is lots of buzz about the fossil horse lesson here in Santa Cruz as well.
Sean would you contact Julie, Jessica, and Jennifer, please, and invite them to join. –Bruce
@bmacfadden Hi Bruce, thanks, I’m glad your lesson plans are spreading! So far the lesson has been really engaging for this one student – and I’m hoping to implement it later on this Spring semester with a whole 11th grade advanced biology high school class.
Will keep the board posted on how that goes; I think Julie is going to send some of the teeth replicas my way in mid-March or so.
@bmacfadden, I extended the invite to Julie, Jessica, and Jennifer. Hopefully they will join and help to continue the conversation.
@taorminalepore, it is always to great to hear all of the work that was put into the curriculum is paying off in big ways!Yes! Tara is in the queue for 3D printed teeth once we have more. Thanks to @llundgren for connecting us.
We just sent out field test materials to eight classrooms last week. Whew!
@bmacfadden, @taorminalepore, @smoran
I have used the horse curriculum to start my 9th and 10th grade honors biology classes for the past three semesters. On day 2 of the course we make a hallway timeline of the major events in the history of the Earth to give students a better sense of geologic time. I start the horse curriculum on day 3. I can then refer back to it as I weave evolution into my other units. Today we referred back to the horse curriculum when talking about the advantages of sexual reproduction in our meiosis unit.@jbroo Jennifer, that’s awesome! I would have loved to have had you as a biology teacher 🙂 Let me know if you’d ever like to collaborate on curriculum or lesson plans!
@smoran used an excellent strategy when we were working with a group of students last week. He has them all measure the largest tooth – Equus ferus – together, using the image from MacFadden, 1988 in the curriculum as a guide. This is an excellent formative assessment to ensure all students know how to measure the APL and crown height. It is one of the easiest teeth to measure, particularly when compared to Sifrhippus, and a great place to start before turning them all loose with the 15 species! Thanks, Sean!
Hello @bmacfadden, @jbokor, @cgrant, @smoran, @llundgren.
Well, after 3 months of 3D printing I have completed preparing 16 sets of the 15 teeth for the horse project. We have two simultaneous classes of 8th graders, about 30 students in each, and 8 total classes for the day (between two teachers). Grand total… 240 teeth. I taught my fellow teacher what we are doing and have now begun the lesson. We started with a period of practicing with calipers (we ordered online). This was new to the students (and teaching them how to use the tools was new as well). We examined the pictures and noted many changes over time. We are ready to find evidence for change! With confidence in measuring, we started collecting data today. I can’t wait to see how this turns out. I will share reflections on teaching students as well as teachers on how to teach the students. Hopefully I can add to this forum!
@acurrier, So exciting! Sounds like you all are well on your way with the lessons. Please do not hesitate to contact @smoran, @jbroo, or myself (@jbokor) if you have any questions. We have amassed quite a few tips and tricks through our implementations. Also, Sean updated the horse cards for lesson three and included a bit more information. I have attached them here. Have fun! Can’t wait for updates. 🙂
@acurrier This is great to hear! Sounds like you are doing a lot of excellent skill building with the caliper use. I love seeing the students’ graphs. I remember that from the mini lesson that I participated in during the GABI conference in the summer here in Gainesville, I would love to read about your perspective on the lesson and hear about some of your students’ experiences. Looking forward to your forum post!
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