Illuminating Lives of the Microcosmos

This lesson is geared towards undergraduates in introductory ecology-related courses. The lesson guides students through an investigation of microhabitat features and their influence on microorganism communities. Students develop a hypothesis about microhabitat influences on communities of microorganisms and test it using observational data The strategy used in the lesson is intended to provide flexibility to student participation while maximizing efficiency of data collection through teamwork. The field crew is responsible for field sampling using the design informed by a group hypothesis and caring for field materials. Mission control is responsible for establishing and caring for microscopy stations and materials used in wet mounts of field samples. The two teams merge after field sampling into pairs from each team to investigate their wet mount samples under the microscope, identify and organisms, and collect count data on different organisms observed. Together, the class collates data and visualizes a summary of the data using rank-abundance curves. The lesson assesses student learning through pre- and post-lesson self-evaluation, a guided writing and discussion period for hypothesis-formation, demonstrated wet mount preparation, drawing and identification of organisms, data presentation and reflection on a hypothesis. The lesson takes several hours to complete. The lesson is described for a 1 hour and 50 minute class, and the lesson is split into two class meetings to complete the lesson. This lesson is primarily focused on helping students develop microscopy skills and the scientific process while engaging students in team work and expanding their knowledge of the tree of life. This lesson was developed through multiple iterations of participation and feedback from students at Virginia State University along the Appomattox River. Drs. Anna Marshall, Shaley Valentine, Susan Washko, and Andy Rost provided reviews that greatly improved the lesson. Dr. Anita Marshall inspired the team format for the lesson. This lesson was formalized at the 2025 Cheat River Rendezvous and 2025 VCU River Field Safety Workshop. The following documents are provided to support the lesson: Lesson plan document Background reading with key definitions, an explanation of rank abundance curves, and further scholarly reading Worksheet with guided questions, space for drawings, and templates for tables and figures. An example field site and route map Pre- and post-activity surveys: student self-evaluation Slides containing images and information about microorganisms encountered in this lesson