Implementing an online module about butterfly wing coloration in an undergraduate career development course

Overview of Module The “Colorful Wings Send Messages” module explores research by Dr. Adriana Briscoe and colleagues on why red postman butterflies (Heliconius erato) have brightly colored wings. Using 1,200 artificial butterfly models deployed across 100 field sites at La Selva Tropical Biological Station in Costa Rica, the study tests whether wing coloration serves to deter predators, attract mates, or both. Students engage with the full research arc — from the scientist’s profile and research background to hypothesis testing, data interpretation, and evaluation of results. The module is open-access and freely available on the Gala platform.   Summary of Implementation Plan and Teaching Notes. This implementation was carried out in Spring 2026 in BIOL 201 — Career Symposium for Ecology, Zoology, and Wildlife Biology Majors at Ball State University, a lecture-format course serving 20–35 undergraduate majors. The entire module was used in its original sequence as the centerpiece of a 50-minute class session. The primary adaptation was contextual: the module was framed within a career development arc, using Dr. Briscoe’s scientist profile and research design as anchors for student reflection on their own professional identities and job search strategies. The implementation went well overall. Students engaged productively with both the scientific content and the career reflection prompts. The “Scientist Spotlight → You” comparison activity resonated strongly, and using the scientific method as a career planning scaffold was a novel framing that students found both memorable and useful. No major issues arose, though minor pacing variation between groups suggested a need for optional extension prompts in future iterations.   Supplementary attached resources include: “Career Focus Activity” — a 4-slide PowerPoint presentation guiding students through three structured group activities: a Scientist Spotlight comparison, a Research Design-to-Job Hunting mapping activity, and a Career “Research Proposal” framework “From Field to Career: Group Activity Worksheet” — a 1-page structured worksheet mirroring the slide content, with write-in fields for student responses across all three parts. Completed in groups during class and collected for participation credit.   Support was provided by: A grant from the United States National Science Foundation (DBI-RCN-UBE 2120141).