Sashoya Dougan Capstone

 For my capstone, I taught underclassmen a mini-course on animal sciences. I researched different teaching techniques before starting. I felt I was very unfamiliar with actually teach subjects to people rather than having conversations about subjects with them. In addition to this, I researched different lesson plans and activities or warm-ups that I found interesting that the class and I could have fun participating in. For example, for one class I made a connection to the anatomy of human muscles and features to certain animal muscles and features. We had a class discussion about what some similarities could be and why then we broke off and everyone chose one animal. I had them research their animal and imagine what kind of strength the animals would have if it were a human and why. Then I had them present to the class and we had a random animal story related discussion for the last while of class. Most of my ideas have been coming from random curiosities and theories that I’ve formed due to my fascination with animals. I wanted to share these feelings and interests with others and that's why I decided to teach this mini-course. I’ve had a lot of fun with my class and hope they enjoyed their time too.

Plumwood, Val. "Animals and Ecology." In The Eye of the Crocodile, 77-90. ANU Press, 2012. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt24hcd2.10?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

This is a primary source that speaks on the inclusion of animals within the human world, it highlights what it was like when the human race and the animal kingdom were closer and what it's like now. I feel it is important for my students to learn how different species are able to coexist and what it may look like when forced inclusion can go wrong, and how proper inclusion can go as well. I hope that they get a good sense of how to treat animals as well since this topic can probably go into animal cruelty as well.

Milner, Nicky, Chantal Conneller, and Barry Taylor. "Animals in a Wilder COntext." In Star Carr: Studies in Technology, Subsistence, and Environment, 335-44. White Rose University Press, 2018. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv9b2vq9.16?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

This link discusses and shows examples of the scientific meaning and makeup of different species of animals. I feel my topic can get a bit confusing ur to the fact that there is a high demand to know every subcategory scientifically. Hopefully, if I use this right and implement it effectively into worksheets that I provide for my students, they can get it right. I feel like this might be a bit intense for some people since it's isn't really modified for younger viewers and it just throws you into descriptions but I believe that I can make it work.

Dawkins, and Marian Stamp. "Animal Minds and Animal Emotions 1." OUP Academic. August 01, 2015. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/40/6/883/187667.

This link spoke on the analyzation of animals emotions. It related their emotions and actions and dealt with how we as people should go about interpreting and respecting them. This is also a very important topic to me because in order to work with animals you have to understand them and one of the most difficult aspects of working with animals is figuring out their behaviors and what not. With this, I can more easily guide the students.

Kelly, Morgan. "Understanding Animal Coexistence with a Little Dung and a Lot of DNA." Princeton University. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://www.princeton.edu/news/2015/10/26/understanding-animal-coexistence-little-dung-and-lot-dna.

This topic mainly covers how we as humans can understand and learn why animals are able to coexist the way they do. I have always been interested in why and how we have so many different species and breeds of things some of which we have not even discovered yet. With this article, I was able to dive into the vast makeups of certain animals habitats and how they are able to smoothly blend into the habitats of others without causing too much commotion. I really believe my students will enjoy this because it covers a lot of questions that I myself have always had.

Nyhus, Philip J. "Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence." Annual Reviews. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085634.

This site also talks about the coexistence of animals. I realize that this theme has become repetitive but the animal world is so vast that there is a lot to cover. This piece covers similar aspects and content but it's written a bit differently and goes in depth further than the others. I didn't mind having so many links on this topic because it's what interested in talking about with my students and I have a feeling that they will find it to be insightful.

Poblocki, Alicia. "Animals & Habitats." The Lifecycle of a Butterfly. Accessed January 25, 2019. http://www3.canisius.edu/~grandem/animalshabitats/SOFTCHALKGOOD_print.html.

This is an education packet on how to go about teaching animals to kids, it gives examples and topics and what not. I understand that the group I will be working with will be a lot older than the group intended for this pack but I think it will be helpful for me. This can be a building block template for me so I can start very small when it comes to my courses complexity than go from there once I have more confidence in what I've taken away from this. So this is more of an introductory piece for me and less of guidance piece you could say.

"22 Fantastic Ways to Get Paid to Work With Animals." Trade-schools.net. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://www.trade-schools.net/ca/articles/jobs-with-animals.asp.

This link highlights different job options for people interested in some animal-related careers. Growing up when someone like animals and wanted to work with them the first thing they would go to or be told about was becoming a veterinarian. While this is an amazing option and I myself chose to pursue that option I still wish I was exposed to their option. This link will open more windows for my students.

http://hamiltonzoo.co.nz/assets/Education-resources/Animals-Classification-Teacher-Notes-Activites-and-Worksheets.pdf

This link also discusses and shows examples of the scientific meaning and makeup of different species of animals. I feel my topic can get a bit confusing ur to the fact that there is a high demand to know every subcategory scientifically. Hopefully, if I use this right and implement it effectively into worksheets that I provide for my students, they can get it right. I feel like this might be a bit intense for some people since it's isn't really modified for younger viewers and it just throws you into descriptions but I believe that I can make it work.

"Classifying Animals." Mensa for Kids. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://www.mensaforkids.org/teach/lesson-plans/classifying-animals/.

This link simply outlines a bunch of lesson plans that I can build off of and get inspiration from. I am not very good at coming up with certain things from scratch so this outline can help me a lot of navigation wise. I do not intend on using the exact examples within the sheet but I would like to incorporate some of the things they mentioned within it. This link is primarily for my activity portion of my mini-course so it isn't as crucial as the informative links.

The Rom 241 Team. "3 Innovative Methods of Teaching for High School Educators." Concordia University-Portland. April 06, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/3-innovative-methods-of-teaching-for-high-school-educators/.

This link is an informative article that instructs people on the basis of teaching other efficiently. I was very worried in the beginning because I am not so used to teaching people fairly close to my own age. I need to figure out how to input my authority within this group without overstepping but also keeping their respect. This link is more for myself rather than my students I want to better prepare myself as much as possible and with this research, I will be able to achieve that.