In this module, students explore biotic responses to changing climate. The module steps through different styles of response (i.e. stasis, adaptation, extinction) and provides examples of each from modern biota. Students are given a set of exercises where they create a hypothesis for future mammal distribution changes. Part of the Neotoma Education Modules for Biotic Response to Climate Change.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Paleoecologists reconstruct past climates and ecosystems by comparing the habits and habitats preferred by living animals or ones closely related to those found as fossils. In this module, students take the first step in this process by examining modern species distributions to make observations about species habitat preferences. Given a list of species, students use the Neotoma Explorer to obtain species distribution maps and compare them to temperature and precipitation maps. A series of questions guide them through their comparison and analysis of the maps. Part of the Neotoma Education Modules for Biotic Response to Climate Change.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Animal distributions are frequently controlled by climate extremes, especially seasonal ones. Therefore, if the climate changes from cold to warm (or vice versa) then using modern mammal distributions and modern climate conditions it is possible to make predictions about how the mammal will respond to the climate change -- whether it is past or future. In this module students use the Neotoma Paleoecological Database to test predictions, or establish hypotheses, about how certain species of mammals have responded to climate change in the past and how they might do so on the future. Part of the Neotoma Education Modules for Biotic Response to Climate Change.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This is a proposal of a not yet implemented idea for a multicourse final assignment to improve cross-curriculum integration. That is, students who are required to submit a final paper, project, presentation in a course will be given the option of combining course projects. By producing one project that ties together two courses, students are encouraged to zoom out from course content and see how several courses interweave in collegiate education.

This learning resource will engage you and your colleagues in learning more about the importance of NGSS. You will build awareness and learn more about how to implement the Next Generation Science Standards in your own setting. We envision this professional learning taking place in an ongoing community of practice. We encourage you to determine and proceed at your own pace that reflects the needs of your team.

Image by Gorkhs from Pixabay

As a component of the new Special Topics course on Edible and Medicinal Plants of Montana (S 2017), students are tasked with designing and landscaping a Medicinal Plants of Montana Native Plant Garden. This OER includes documents guiding instructors through the implementation of the project.

Each group is given the approximate dimensions of the garden and the professor presents options for them to consider, e.g., soil and bed preparation, pathways, fencing, and signage. Students are provided with a list of more than seventy plants to consider for placement in the garden. In groups, students research mature height and width of plants, special sun or soil requirements, and potential sources. In this manner, native plant research is spread among the groups and a final document containing all information is posted for group use in design. At the end of four weeks in which some laboratory time is provided for design, each group presents their ideas to the class. After selection of the best ideas from each group, the class is split into larger groups, each competitively presenting the ultimate design to be landscaped on the MSUN campus.

Based on principles of food safety, Ninja Kitchen is an addictive restaurant serving game in the tradition of Diner Dash, simple and accessible in its early screens but fiendishly complex as you advance. In Ninja Kitchen, not getting orders right makes customers mad, but unsafe food handling makes them visibly get sick (and leave without paying). In mastering the levels of the game, players internalize food safety tenets such as avoiding cross-contamination, not leaving perishable foods sitting out, and cooking meat to the proper temperature. In early levels, a green film visually identifies which surfaces and plates are contaminated. In later levels, the player must keep track of this mentally. Juggling customers' orders and recombining different foods mimics the experience of practicing these behaviors in the diverse circumstances of real life.
This game was a finalist in the 2011 Serious Games Showcase & Challenge.

Nitrogen & Agriculture is a interactive that guides the player through exploring how different levels of nitrogen affects feed, fertilizer, and pollutants in agriculture.