Activity

1. A native Floridian, I trained to be a forester/conservationist (not a teacher!). I am working, in fits and spurts, on an M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction at USF. In the past year or so, I have become a bit of a bird nerd in my reading. I don’t mind bird watching, but I find learning about their behavior even more fascinating.

2. I teach middle and high school project-based learning in science research and imaging at Lakeland Christian School in Lakeland, FL. I grew up in this area and recently moved back to it after living in Fort Myers. I have been an educator for almost 7 years, and like Melissa, I also coordinate my school’s science fair. I designed and maintain the website for my academic unit when I’m not assisting our competitive FTC robotics team.

3. Patterns of diversification and dispersal are the most fascinating aspects of the GABI. One example I stumbled across recently is the convergence between certain taxa in North and South America: sabre-toothed smilodon in the north and a marsupial sabre-tooth equivalent in the south!

4. I would love to understand more about the ecosystems and behaviors inferred from the fossil record associated with the GABI. Like Denise, I’m interested in the conservation lessons that can be gleaned from the GABI, as I feel the next generations of conservation scientists we are now teaching must be able to imagine new ecosystems, opportunities, and consequences that will result from accelerating change.

5. A lesson plan idea I’d love to implement is getting my students into expeditionary learning through collecting fossils at the Peace River in Polk County, Florida. This is a well-known location and student finds here could stimulate lifelong interests in natural history and fieldwork. Because I enjoy seeing students instructing one another, I think there are many chances for students to “digitize and donate”—sharing the thrill of their own discovery with other students by giving away their fossils. They would learn vital museum skills for recording natural history information while experiencing the joys of giving, creating, and sharing.