Eyes on Wildlife Implementation
The Eyes on Wildlife Implementation is a cooperative project between Minnesota State University Moorhead and the Regional Science Center.

MSUM homepage   

Regional Science Center homepage

Purpose of Website:

Our aim is to assist teachers in implementing field-based inquiry projects into their classrooms.  We have constructed this website with the idea that its users have had training or an in-service on Eyes on Wildlife.  Areas of assistance include finding resources for information on materials needed to implement the Eyes on Wildlife project.  It is also our aim to emphasize the importance of inquiry based learning in the classroom.  Finally, we will show you how Minnesota State University Moorhead is preparing future teachers to use inquiry based learning in their classrooms.

"What is Inquiry?"

Scientific inquiry includes the diverse ways in which a student can explore the natural world and propose individual explanations based on the evidence resulting from their work.  Inquiry shows students how to develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas throughout the natural world.
                                  
Advantages of using inquiry in the classroom are numerous.  To begin, students develop intellectual strengths that help develop their minds through creative learning.  Using inquiry will also develop intrinsic student learning motivation rather than extrinsic.  For example, upon succeeding at discovery, students will receive a satisfying intellectual thrill - an intrinsic reward.

Another benefit of implementing field based inquiry in the classroom is that instruction becomes student-centered.  The student will become more involved in active, hands-on learning.  The greater the student involvement, the greater the memory retention.  Active learning also reduces learning at only the verbal level (less memorization).  In addition, inquiry learning builds student self-concept and talent, leading to the development of life skills.

Finally, the advantages of inquiry learning, also address many areas of the Minnesota Graduation Standards.  Implementing field-based inquiry standards such as Eyes on Wildlife will address the Minnesota Graduation Standards (Inquiry: Direct observation, accessing information, and controlled experiments).  Click the following link for more information on the Minnesota Graduation Standards.

Minnesota Graduation Standards Website

 

Resources and Information

The following links provide start-up information for teachers implementing Eyes On Wildlife in the classroom. After completing our resource search, we found the sources in each link to be the most useful.

 


  Eyes on Wildlife Curriculum Outline

  Whitetail Deer 

  Wolves

  Black Bear

Equipment and Materials 

 

For more information about Eyes on Wildlife or Teaching Using Field-Based Inquiry, please contact Minnesota State University Moorhead at:

Dr. George R. Davis
davisg@mnstate.edu

This website was created by the 1999-2000 EECE 397 Teaching Using Field-Based Inquiry students at Minnesota State University Moorhead (Jeff Erickson, Tanya Haugen, Sarah Mills and Brandy Spitzer).  This site was updated, March 2003, by the 2003 EECE 397 students (Alicia Gulbranson, Heather Rickerl, Morgan Espeland, Mike Richards, and Brett Lehner).