Undergraduate education can easily fall to the wayside in larger universities where research occupies a dominant proportion of faculty and graduate student time and effort, but this need not be the case. In the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at Virginia Tech, we have capitalized on the opportunities that our diverse research programs offer undergraduate and graduate students through the use of case studies in the classroom. At least three professors in the department currently offer courses that use teaching case studies based on research they are or have conducted recently. These case studies are inherently applied, contemporary, and relevant to our field. Case studies teach by asking questions rather than giving facts to be memorized. They also put students in real-life situations that require them to make decisions. Case studies challenge students to think on a higher level (Bloom’s Taxonomy) by asking them to analyze data available, synthesize information, and evaluate actions and options in order to make a decision. These skills are imperative to a successful career in our field, either as a future manager or scientist.
Results/Conclusions
Our case studies have been both international and domestic in nature, probing students to apply their existing knowledge to new problems. In this presentation, we will discuss two case studies that have been presented within our undergraduate curriculum. The first was designed to introduce students to invasive species ecology and management, through an examination of a non-native aquatic plant that begins to change an ecosystem. Students are asked to become the managers and stakeholders in this case and to explore the potential ecological impacts of the invasive species and subsequent management. The second case presents students with a lake in
