Planning Bugs 101: Content Progression

This is a continuation of my Bugs 101 series, in which I document my thoughts and experiences as a first-time university instructor. Last week I defined the standards that would be assessed throughout the course and gave a sneak peak at the myriad of assessments students would be completing. Instead of getting into those in more detail, I realized that I needed to hammer out the “meaty” part of the course. More specifically, the content that would be addressed and organizing these topics in a logical way, increasing in complexity given that foundational information was provided early on. 

This course, officially titled “Insects, Globalization, & Sustainability,” should focus on the intersections between insects and other facets of our planet, and explore the cascading effects that result from these interactions. As such, I’ve chosen to tackle this expansive field of topics by compartmentalizing them into four units. Each unit builds on the foundational information from the last, increasing in scale and complexity through its progression. The first first unit is the most simplistic and is purposefully built to be a sort of “practice round” for students to become familiar with the course structure, grading scale, and mastery rubrics. Each unit has been given a catchy little name that bluntly highlights the intersection being addressed, and is further supported by a set of educational goals and objectives specific to that unit. 

Unit 1: Insects + Bugs

The first unit, “Insects + Bugs,” is an initial abbreviated unit. As such, it is designed to be an introduction to the course, giving students an initial and low stakes opportunity to interact with the mastery rubrics and practice performing with these novel expectations. Content wise, this unit is designed to begin building an informational foundation for students that will enable them to access more complicated concepts as they relate to insects. Specifically, students will be introduced to fundamental entomological themes and identification skills, hence the unit name ‘Insects + Bugs,’ pointing to a distinction between the colloquial and technical use of these terms. 

Unit 1 Goals

1. Introduce students to the topic of insects.

2. Establish tier 3 vocabulary for access of information in later units.

3. Introduce fundamental biological processes necessary for more complex understanding.

Unit 1 Objectives

Students will be able to…

1. Distinguish between insects and non-insects, pointing to diagnostic characteristics.

2. Compare and contrast holo- and hemi-metabolous life cycles.

3. Identify common phases of the insect life cycle.

4. Identify common insect anatomy from a diagram.

5. Explain the technical difference between an insect and bug.

6. Explain simple heritability and complete punnett squares.

7. Name several insect orders by their common and scientific names.

8. Explain the effects on growth rate and generational succession as a result of increased temperatures.

9. Explain the different ways that insects communicate with each other.

10. Discuss the ethical considerations of using insects in scientific research/collections.

Unit 2: Insects + Society

The second unit, “Insects + Society,” is the first full unit for students to demonstrate mastery of the identified skills. Because of this, the content in this unit is the most relatable and conforms the least to a traditional science course. Instead, this unit addresses topics like the role that insects have played in religions, pop culture, historical iconography, and the role they played in historical events. This unit also addresses human-insect interactions, both as pets and pests. These more familiar topics provide a lower barrier of access for students, and encourages them to focus on demonstrating skill rather than divide their attention between doing and knowing. 

Unit 2 Goals

1. Encourage students to recognize the positive and negative interactions humans have with insects.

2. Highlight the inarguably intertwined relationship insects have had through human recorded history.

3. Enable students to recognize their own positive and negative feelings towards insects, and expound on these feelings.

Unit 2 Objectives

Students will be able to…

1. Identify common insects found in households.

2. Explain which insects should be avoided and which are harmless.

3. Point to the historical role of insects.

4. Provide examples of insects in pop culture.

5. Explain the role of insects in different religions and cultural beliefs. 

6. Provide examples of insects as agricultural and societal pests.

7. Describe positive direct relationships insects share with humans.

8. List common insect-vectored diseases and name their vectors.

9. Describe the role of insects as pathogen vectors broadly.

10. Explain how insects are used in forensic science.

Unit 3: Insects + Ecosystems

This third unit, “Insects + Ecosystems,” increases the scale slightly, drawing from previous concepts to draw connections between insects and their environments. These concepts involve more complex relationships and asks students to weigh in on more nuanced ecological balances. Ecological services, trophic cascades, invasive species and biocontrol agents constitute a portion of these more complex topics. 

Unit 3 Goals

1. Provide examples of the services and roles insects play in ecosystems, focusing on the indirect effects these interactions have. 

2. Highlight the importance of insects to local ecosystems, and provide opportunities for students to explore the consequences of losing insects.

3. Emphasize the importance of quarantining and preventing the distribution of insects outside their native ranges, providing examples of invasive species and discussing the role of biocontrol agents.

Unit 3 Objectives

Students will be able to:

1. Identify the trophic level a specific insect functions at, and

2. Explain cascade effects due to population size changes for that insect.

3. List the ecological services provided by insects, and explain the consequences of these services not being performed.

4. Define and describe the dangers of invasive species.

5. Explain how biocontrol agents are determined and used against invasive species.

6. Identify the functional role of an insect given the feeding behaviors.

7. Provide examples of insects functioning at different trophic levels or providing different ecological services.

Unit 4: Insects + Our Shared Planet

This fourth and final unit, “Insects + Our Shared Planet,” addresses topics at the greatest temporal and time scales. At this point, students should be confident as they’ve had ample opportunities to demonstrate their abilities. Students in this unit are asked to make predictions and reason through the complex elements involved in large scale issues related to insects. These issues involve climate change, industrialization, urbanization, deforestation, and the effects on food security, shifts in habitat, air and soil quality, nutrient cycling, and more.

Unit 4 Goals

1. Give students the tools and opportunities to apply insect knowledge to real world problems and predict the possibility of consequences these changes can produce. 

2. Encourage students to recognize the role of insects in world food security, rationalizing between the negative and positive role insects may play, and the potential for insects to be used as a food source.

3. Demonstrate and engage students in recognizing the role that insects play in the cycling or nutrients and organic molecules in natural systems. 

Unit 4 Objectives

Students will be able to:

1. Explain the effects of industrialization on insects and their ecosystems.

2. Identify hazardous effects of urbanization and deforestation on insects and their ecosystems.

3. Provide a statement, accompanied by evidence and sufficient reasoning to support their claim, related to the ethical and environmental considerations of destroying habitat.

4. Explain the role of insects in food production, and predict indirect effects on the world’s food security. 

5. Explain the deleterious effects of climate change and predict the consequences these changes may have related to shifts in habitat ranges, reproduction rate, generational capacity, etc.

6. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing insects as a food source. 

7. Provide examples of conservation strategies that can be employed by anyone, and explain the importance of protecting endangered insects.

Now that I have most of the content picked out and a general structure for the way that information will be scaffolded, I can start to narrow in on the number of meetings we'll have this semester and specify what is addressed in each class period. On top of that, I can also start drafting the Exam questions and Essay prompts. I'm looking forward to more granular work in the next few weeks as I start seeing the peices come together for this course.

TL;DR - This week I've outlined the progression of course content so that I can plan the content dependent elements of the assessments. I've chosen to structure my course with four units, the first (Insects + Bugs) sets up foundational info and established tier 3 vocabulary that we'll use the remainder of the course. The next unit, Insects + Society, zooms out and examines the relationships between insects and humans. The course progresses in complexity in Insects + Ecosystems, addressing foundational biological processes before finally introducing relevant and complicated global problems in the fourth unit, Insects + Our Shared Planet. From here assessments and individual lessons can start being drafted.