Biology 252: Environmental Animal Physiology

Faculty Member: Matt Rand
Class Description: This course explores the physiological adaptations animals employ to survive in a wide variety of environments. Animals maintain physiological functions in the face of environmental extremes in heat, cold, aridity, deep ocean pressure, salinity, and the lack of oxygen in water or at high altitude, to name a few. An organism's ability to cope with environmental extremes has a large impact on the geographic distribution of many species. Associated laboratory will emphasize experimentation and application of physiological concepts in living organisms.

Watch/Download Full Video (MP4 Video 91.2MB Jul31 17): 35:23 min

Class Video

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Chapter 1: Course Goals (MP4 Video 10.8MB Jul28 17) (5:31 min)
Matt describes how his course design helps students focus on the body's systems and how those systems interact, in the hope that students will begin to think like physiologists.

Chapter 2: Illustrating Lectures (MP4 Video 7.3MB Jul28 17) (3:45 min)
Matt explains how he uses different work spaces in his presentation of classroom material, including the benefits and disadvantages of different technologies.

Chapter 3: Provoking Critical Questions (MP4 Video 6.3MB Jul28 17) (3:03 min)
Difficult and thought-provoking questions emerge as vital part of Matt's pedagogy, as he expects students to engage his presentations with active and critical thinking.

Chapter 4: Creating Emphasis (MP4 Video 8.4MB Jul28 17) (4:30 min)
Matt discusses the strategies he uses to highlight especially important concepts in class and to create emphasis with engaging examples.

Chapter 5: Snake in a Bag (MP4 Video 5.8MB Jul28 17) (3:01 min)
Matt reveals the power of "show and tell" in creating memorable associations with course material in a classroom setting.

Chapter 6: The Shape of Class (MP4 Video 5.3MB Jul28 17) (2:38 min)
The overall "shape" of a typical class can enhance learning by providing students with useful contexts for both specific information and broader concepts.

Chapter 7: Lab & Research Expectations (MP4 Video 12.3MB Jul28 17) (5:27 min)
Matt explains that term-long research projects enable students to experience how scientific data is generated and how new research questions are generated.

Chapter 8: Watching Yourself Teach (MP4 Video 123.3MB Aug1 17) (6:58 min)
Matt reflects on his experience of watching his own teaching—the energy required and the difficulty of "reading" student responses in class—as well as his own growth as a teacher and the challenge of turning mistakes into a learning opportunity. The joy of discovering new things to share with students is at the heart of Matt's passion for teaching.