Implementing an online module about the Carbon Cycle in streams in an undergraduate Global Ecology Course for majors and non-majors

Overview of the Module This module examined how a tropical stream contributes to the global carbon cycle through CO₂ emissions. Results showed high CO₂ release from both stream respiration and groundwater inputs from surrounding soils, with seasonal changes contributing how much carbon is released or absorbed. Summary of Implementation Plan and Teaching Notes This module was implemented in a Global Ecology course, an upper-level course for Biology majors and non-majors at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. These students had taken an introductory course in ecology prior to this Global Ecology course and were familiar with thisbiogeochemical cycle. So, the module became an extension of the students understanding of Carbon release into the atmosphere and added how to measure Carbon to their knowledge. We used a summarized version of the module and the pretest to evaluate the students understanding of the original materials from the module authors. Thereafter, the students went through and worked on a part of the materials for about 30 minutes, and the class had a discussion around the materials for 10 minutes. The post-test questions were answered in the next ten minutes, with feedback from the students on their comprehension of the material and the additional knowledge they acquired. There were no new documents or edits of the content of the original module. I aligned use of this module with the student learning objectives and the goals of the global ecology course. The module corroborated the students understanding ofbiogeochemical cycles. Support was provided by:Agrant from the United States National Science Foundation (DBI-RCN-UBE 2120141).