Evaluate: Soil Partners

Option 1. Complete a Case Study

To assess student understanding of the inter-relationship between soil micro-organisms and plant health, students complete the Case Study: Revolt of the Fungus People: Mycorrhizae in the Ecosystem
Description from the National Center for Case Study in Education:

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Beech Trees are ectomycorrhizal

The case examines the recent studies identifying the spectacular and wide array of intraspecific and interspecific chemical communication among organisms, giving us a glimpse of the enormously complex interactions in an ecological community. The case can easily be used as a springboard for discussion about the social and political issues that might arise when humans disrupt these ecosystems. The case was developed for college general biology but can easily be used in environmental science, ecology or evolution classes. In fact, several of the questions raised address issues that are most appropriate for advanced students. What is essential is that the students have a general knowledge of fungal anatomy and mycorrhizae before starting the activity.

The site includes a link to download the case and links to four excellent video clips.

Note: In order to access the associated teacher's notes and answer key, users must register and create a log-in. There is a $25.00 annual fee for access to the site.

Option 2. Complete Test Questions

The following assessment is provided to evaluate student learning from this module. Click the file to download it to your desktop. To allow for editing, the file is provided in both Word and PDF.