Teaching Modules
We have developed a series of modules that can be taught at varying levels of complexity. Each can be taught in a single day or scaled up to a semester-long Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE). Each module can be adapted depending on the species of squirrel you have on or near your campus. Of course, although we here at Squirrel-Net are partial to squirrels, we love biodiversity even more! Our modules can be adapted to a variety of animals, and some have already been used with mice, rats, and birds.
Our modules are published in CourseSource, hosted in QUBES, an open-access, peer-reviewed lesson plan repository, along with a companion essay describing the network. Basic teaching materials are available with the QUBES publications, but you will still need to request access to the national datasets and extended materials using the link below.
This module gets students to spend some time observing the behavior of squirrels outdoors in their habitat.
This module gets students to describe antipredator behaviors for squirrels or other animals by measuring flight initiation distances.
This module gets students to examine the factors that affect an animal's perception of risk by quantifying its giving up density.
This module gets students real-world experience with population estimation methods and asks them to compare biases between them.
This module gets students hands-on experience with radio telemetry equipment and its applications in mapping animal movements.
