3.2.1. Identification
Example 1 – Defining characteristics and image boards (Appendix
B.1) : The defining characteristics and image boards activity has been
used in a Wildlife Plant Identification laboratory course at a split
upper undergraduate/graduate level. This activity was developed as a
pre-lab activity to aid students in identification of plants they would
collect in the field. Students researched and developed a written
description of plant parts (e.g., flower, leaves) that helped categorize
the plant species into its group (i.e., taxonomic group such as family
or genus, growth habit group such as graminioid or forb). Next, students
conducted an online image search to find several images that aligned
with the written description. Students applied this knowledge in the
field to help them identify the correct type of plant to investigate the
identity of using plant identification applications (e.g., iNaturalist).
This activity could be modified for any course (e.g., introductory
science courses, ornithology, botany) where the learning objective is to
identify/group objects by using visually describable defining
characteristics.
Example 2 – Diversity and taxonomic rankings (Appendix B.2) : The
diversity and taxonomic rankings activity has been used in a Shark and
Ray Biology field course at the upper undergraduate level. Course
enrollment is typically 20 students. This activity was developed to
highlight the wide diversity of sharks in the northern Gulf of Mexico
while providing students with practice using a dichotomous key. First,
students were presented with a Google Slides file that contained
instructions and photos of preserved shark and ray specimens. Then,
students were given two hours to identify 34 specimens to a
predetermined taxonomic ranking: order, family, or species. During the
two-hour period, the professor answered clarifying questions about
dichotomous key terminology or difficult-to-identify specimens using the
chat function in Zoom. Finally, at the end of the two-hour period,
correct answers were shared and discussed with the class. This activity
could be modified for any course (e.g., vertebrate zoology or other
taxon-specific courses) where the objective is to introduce students to
diverse new taxa while familiarizing them with the intricacies of a
dichotomous key.