Guide 2A Making Observations
Products
Quiz, Media, & Portfolio Directions
Review Making Observations Contents
Making Observations Objectives
Senses
Describe the various senses species use to interact with their external and internal environments; provide examples of interactions between sensory organs and the central nervous systems to form perception and test personal perceptions; and distinguish between observations and inferences, and provide an example of each.
Brains
Compare and contrast human brain structure and abilities to other animal species, explain how cognition relates to animals understanding the world, including examples of different forms of cognition in different species, and describe octopus characteristics including sensory organs, perception, and cognitive abilities.
Magnify & Measure
Describe the magnification possible with hand lenses and microscopes, explain why light sources and stains are important in magnification, and recognize and apply different forms of measurement used in animal research.
Microscopic Animals
Identify microscopic pond animals based on their structural characteristics, list different forms of motion visible at different magnifications, and explain what a tardigrade is, including their classification.
Making Observations Quiz
Quiz Directions
Complete all four sections and take the quiz on Canvas.
Use the learning objectives above to guide your studying.
Making Observations Media
Introduced in Microscopic Animals section of this guide:
Portfolio Plan
This is the first of two media assignments that introduce the animal biology portfolio. The portfolio will be due the Wednesday of finals week (“week 11”). There is no final exam for BI 102, instead you will be compiling and submitting this portfolio of your work.
The portfolio has two features:
1. demonstrates your achievement of the nine course outcomes
2. constructed so you may use it beyond this course
In this media assignment you will become more familiar with the nine outcomes.
Steps for this media piece assignment:
1. Watch the two videos that introduce the portfolio and nine outcomes.
2. Look over the outcomes, they are listed in more detail at the link provided.
3. Think of examples of work you can use to demonstrate mastery of the nine outcomes. For the final portfolio due at the end of this course, you will need a substantial example of your work representing each of the nine outcomes .
4. Select four different outcomes from the list (any four of the nine).
5. Upload to Canvas examples of your work you could use to partially represent mastery of these four outcomes. List the name of the outcome (for example “animal connections”) and the example you could use (like a photo essay on caring for your pet). These examples could be work you have completed in this course, previous courses, or from your other life experiences.
6. To summarize: you are uploading a list of the work you can use to demonstrate partial mastery of four different outcomes. If you already have the work completed (for example, your field kit, or photos of pet care), you can start collecting these pieces; there will be assignments of assembling them into the final portfolio in upcoming guides.
Media Directions
To be completed after taking the quiz on Canvas.
Upload your portfolio plan to Canvas. Your plan can be submitted as a PDF, a word document, a photo of the notes, or even a video. Multiple assignment formats are supported.
Animal Biology Portfolio
Portfolio Directions
Since you are working on an Animal Biology Portfolio plan for this guide’s media piece, there is no additional portfolio work this week.
Making Observations
If you would like to learn more about the topics introduced in this course, please visit the resources page.
Back to Observations
Module 2 overview
This Guide
2A: Making Observations