CLIMATE CHANGE
Participants will study the many causes of climate change and investigate potential actions to address global warming. During the class, participants will discuss how polls affect public opinion, terms associated with global warming, the affects of the greenhouse gases on oceans, weather and climate, ice caps, the “Six Americans” study, deforestation, and potential affects on Illinois. At the end of this course, participants have a solid understanding of current issues surrounding global warming and strategies for taking action on a local level to address global warming.
Class Code: ZOO/BOT 699.J
Course Credits: 3
Online work and four face-to-face meetings
Fall term
Note: This course is offered every other year.
Course themes:
- Investigate global warming issues to understand causes and impacts in natural populations; analyze solutions to these issues and the effects in species conservation
- Strategies for engaging in local conservation action
- Explore principles of climate change
- Learn about polls, the “Six Americans” study, and how polls affect public perception
- Explore potential effects of global warming on the Great Lakes region
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP IN MY COMMUNITY
Participants will investigate and participate in conservation opportunities and solutions in their local communities, practice inquiry-based learning, develop a conservation project to be used in their classroom or community, and reflect on their ecological footprint. At the end of this course, participants have a solid understanding of current issues facing local habitats and strategies for empowering their students or community members to generate solutions and take action.
Class Code: ZOO / BOT 698.7
Course Credits: 3
Online work and three face-to-face meetings
Fall semester
Course themes:
- Use inquiry to drive learning in science and integrated topics
- Investigate the Life Sciences through local conservation issues and current research being conducted in local communities to understand causes and impacts; critically analyze solutions to these issues
- Explore the principles of sustainability and community-based conservation
- Use local community resources, including the AIP Master Institution environment, as learning resources.
FOUNDATIONS OF INQUIRY
The course will provide participants with the tools needed to make science a fun, enjoyable learning experience while further increasing their competence and confidence in science. The course will include individual inquiry investigations, interdisciplinary learning and inquiry techniques, and critical thinking skills. Participants will carry out original inquiry investigations.
Required as first course in AIP program
Class Code: BOT/GLG/IES/ZOO 698.5
Course Credits: 3
Online work and five face-to-face meetings
Summer semester
Course themes:
- Conduct a simple inquiry in small groups to review the importance of observation
- Conduct an inquiry that focuses on critical thinking skills and how language promotes critical thinking
- Understand the importance of interdisciplinary learning in science, math, literacy, and the arts
- Facilitate the steps of the inquiry process leading to the final step of forming new questions for investigation
GRADUATE RESEARCH: INDEPENDENT STUDY
This is a pass/fail course. This course provides AIP students with the opportunity to do intensive research on a topic or topics that directly contribute to the student’s Master Plan. Research may take the form of direct observations but must also include an extensive literature review. The final project includes a written research paper and may include other product (short movie, website, multimedia presentation, etc.). This experience is intended to add depth and insight to the student’s master plan and the student is expected to take on significant responsibilities within the chose independent study topic.
Class Code: ZOO 620
Course Credits: 1 - 2
Online work and individual meetings with the instructor
Any semester after the first year in the program
Course themes:
- Think critically to research facts and solutions to real world issues
- Conduct extensive research, synthesize information, and expand on the understanding of the topic
- Reach novel and sound conclusions and ideas based on research information
- Master research skills and develop a final synthesis product
GRADUATE RESEARCH: INTERNSHIP
This is a pass/fail course. This course provides AIP students with the opportunity to work one-on-one with Zoo professionals and/or Community leaders on projects that directly contribute to the student’s Master Plan. This experience is intended to be pragmatic, and the student is expected to take on significant responsibilities within the chosen internship.
Class Code: ZOO 620
Course Credits: 2-3
Online work and individual meetings with the instructor
Any semester after the first year in the program
Course themes:
- Think critically to develop solutions to real world issues
- Network and work collaboratively with professionals in their chosen fields
- Explore career opportunities and develop a more informed plan for post-graduation success
- Develop a unique set of skills that will enhance their Master Plan objectives
GREAT LAKES ECOSYSTEM
The focus of this laboratory-based course is the study of the Greater Chicago area Great Lakes watershed area. It combines classroom work with field science inquiry and research. Course methods include investigations, lecture, discussion, individual and group projects, and selected readings. Students investigate the history, geology, flora, fauna, varied ecosystems, and human influence on the Greater Chicago area Great Lakes watershed basin.
Class Code: BOT/GLG/IES/ZOO 698.B
Course Credits: 3
Online work and five face-to-face meetings
Summer semester
Course themes
- Understand how watersheds function generally, and specifically within the Greater Chicago area
- Become familiar with historical and contemporary human influences on ecosystems within the Greater Chicago area Great Lakes watershed basin
- Discuss and understand negative human impacts including point and non-point source pollution, multiple-stressors, and “urban stream syndrome”
- Gain skills for observing, testing and describing biotic and abiotic characteristics of ecosystems in the Greater Chicago area Great Lakes watershed basin
- Understand the status of threatened and endangered species in the Greater Chicago area Great Lakes watershed basin
- Understand local sewage treatment and its relationship to the Greater Chicago area Great Lakes watershed basin
INTEGRATION THROUGH INQUIRY
Recommended for AIP students who are teachers. Participants will learn to incorporate multiple curriculum demands into classroom teaching by effectively incorporating student centered, inquiry–based methods with integrated, interdisciplinary approaches. Participate in activities and develop curricula that can be used in your classroom. The course will include practical applications and hands-on approaches for teaching, developing, and implementing thematic units. Although science content is at that foundation of the activities and curricula explored, it is a fully integrated approach emphasizing literacy and mathematics in particular.
Class Code: BOT/ZOO 698.2
Course Credits: 3
Online work and four face-to-face meetings
Summer semester
This course is offered every other year.
Course Themes:
- Develop curriculum that incorporates learning strands from math, science and literature
- Broaden the scope of a current teaching topic to include math, science, and literature
- Effectively demonstrate the use of integrated student centered methods
MASTER PLAN IN ACTION
The main goal of this course is to support effective science-based community outreach projects that relate to student’s Master Plans. Because Master Plans vary in focus, the content of the course is largely self-determined. Students will interact in an online community and will meet in person to discuss their progress and offer advice and assistance with each other’s design and data analysis. This course provides students with the opportunity to plan the remainder of their degree program, conduct an extensive literature review, receive feedback on experimental design and analysis, and perform preliminary or additional data collection and analysis that will inform project development.
Class Code: BOT/ZOO 698
Course Credits: 2
Online work and four face-to-face meetings
Summer semester
Course Themes:
- Develop and expand a focused research plan or social action project in your local community
- Examine, critique, and apply research methodologies from published studies
- Conduct critical peer-review of colleague’s work
- Respond to individual and peer consultation on Master Plans
- Use networking and outreach to elevate the outcomes of the Master Plan
PROBLEMS IN ZOOLOGY: BOOK DISCUSSION: ISHMAEL AND COLLAPSE
This pass/fail seminar centers on the books, Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit, by Daniel Quinn (1992) and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond (2005/2011). These unique books focus on the tension between humankind and the Earth. While Quinn divides humankind into two simple groups, Takers and Leavers, Diamond holds a complex theory about causes of the success or failure of societies. Online discussion and on-site meetings allow the student to investigate their own beliefs about conservation theories, investigate local conservation examples, and examine their personal role (and barriers) in caring for the Earth.
Course Code: ZOO 620
Course Credits: 1
Online work and two face-to-face meetings
Spring term
Course Themes:
- Increasing awareness of contemporary conservation issues
- Developing an awareness of modern humankind’s effect on the Earth
- Thinking critically and scientifically about environmental issues
- Developing critical review skills when reading literature
ZOO EXPEDITIONS: PLANTS AND PEOPLE
As is evidenced by the schoolyard ecology movement, the popularity of Richard Louv's recent book Last Child In the Woods, and the large number of people enjoying outside activities, everyone is increasingly realizing the power of local environments to engage in powerful learning experiences. Join Brookfield Zoo in exploring the power of inquiry to generate knowledge and illuminate the relationships between plants and people. Interact with ecologists, botanists, and classmates, while developing great ideas for using natural and cultivated plant communities.
Course Code: BOT/GLG/IES/ZOO 695
Course Credits: 3
Online work and four face-to-face meetings
Fall term
This course is offered every other year.
Course Themes:
- Inquiry-based learning
- Relationships between plants and people
- The use of wild and cultivated spaces in education
- Methods of botanical investigations
- Curricular development and educational leadership.
ZOO EXPEDITIONS: PRIMATES
Graduate students in this course investigate primate conservation and behavior through direct observation. Primates have long fascinated us as a remarkable group in their own right, and for the clues they can shed on our own behavior and cultures. Callimicos, Spider Monkeys, Brown Capuchins, White Cheeked Gibbons, Orangutans, Mandrills, Mangabeys, Lowland Gorillas and other primates are ideal for comparative studies on topics ranging from social structure to communication. This course will provide a foundation for understanding research methods and conservation issues.
Course Code: BOT/GLG/IES/ZOO 696
Course Credits: 3
Online work and four face-to-face meetings
Summer term
This course is offered every other year.
Course themes:
- Classification and evolution of primates
- Primate conservation
- Design and methods of behavioral studies
- Curricular development and educational leadership
- Current technology used in primate care and conservation