What are Bottlenose Dolphins Doing on Land? an Activity Teaching the Scientific Method through the Unique Behavior of Strand Feeding

All scientists use the scientific method to investigate the unknown by developing a hypothesis, designing an experiment, collecting data, and interpreting findings. The purpose of this activity is to teach middle school students about the scientific method and foraging ecology as they investigate a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American biology teacher 2011-09, Vol.73 (7), p.407-411
Main Authors: Bowen-Stevens, Sabrina R., Cox, Tara M., Curran, Mary Carla
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin
Behavior
bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenosed dolphins
Common bottlenose dolphin
Compasses
Docks
Dolphins
Dolphins & porpoises
Foraging
Foraging (Animal feeding behavior)
Foraging behavior
Freshwater fishes
Inquiry & Investigation
Marine fishes
Methods
Middle School Students
Mud
Salt marshes
Science
Science education
Sciences education
Scientific method
Strand feeding
Studies
Teaching Methods
Thinking Skills
Tursiops truncatus
Waves
Wildlife habitats
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Summary:All scientists use the scientific method to investigate the unknown by developing a hypothesis, designing an experiment, collecting data, and interpreting findings. The purpose of this activity is to teach middle school students about the scientific method and foraging ecology as they investigate a foraging behavior (strand feeding) of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). We tested this activity on middle school students and found that the activity promoted student inquiry, ingenuity, and critical thinking as the students used the scientific method to answer questions about strand feeding.
ISSN:0002-7685
1938-4211
DOI:10.1525/abt.2011.73.7.7