A group exercise, suggested to be most effective when used near the semester-end, enables entry-level students to appreciate the application of plant biology and makes botany labs experimental. It is believed that this series of labs helps students to appreciate their own learning when they teach and explain things to others.

The Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) project began in 1972 to enable non-school youth groups (aged 10-15) to gain firsthand experiences in outdoor environments. This descriptive paper explains the program including its purpose and historical background. Specific objectives are to: (1) stimulate curiosity about local environments;…

Introduces a teaching strategy for Year 10 and senior biology students to demonstrate food and energy processes along a river ecosystem. In studying the River Continuum Concept, groups of students undertake a series of interrelated projects as a means of understanding the big picture of the food and energy interrelationships evident in healthy…

Reports on the impact of an introductory biology course sequence that incorporated experience-based, group learning. Achievement results indicate that students were not disadvantaged by this new approach and, in fact, displayed a superior grasp of group-work, open lab utilization, and creative problem solutions. Attitudes regarding anxiety over…

Active participation in a variety of outdoor activities by small groups of youngsters aged 10 to 15 is the focus of the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) project, designed to provide the firsthand outdoor experience necessary for understanding biological relationships. OBIS provides community-sponsored youth organizations and schools…

Designed to allow youngsters aged 10 to 15 to experience the challenges and problems environmental investigators might face making an environmental impact study, the trial version of the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) Trail Module focuses on aspects of construction-related environment problems. Four activities are included in the…

The 24 activities in the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) Trial Edition Set II use living organisms such as crabs, birds, crayfish, lichens, and insects to investigate biological interrelationships, organism behavior, and species density to promote greater environmental and sensory awareness. The activities, designed primarily for…

Eight games are included in the 24 activities in the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) Trial Edition Set IV. There are also simulations, crafts, biological techniques, and organism investigations focusing on animal and plant life in the forest, desert, and snow. Designed for small groups of children ages 10 to 15 from schools and…

The predominant focus of the 24 Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) Trial Edition Set III activities is on animal behavior, and the adaptations and diversity of both plants and animals. Night time activities, games, investigation, experimentation, and crafts are used to study ants, birds, clams, water snails, water striders, spiders,…

The Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) Trial Edition Set I contains 24 varied activities which make use of crafts, simulations, and basic investigative techniques to provide introductory learning experiences in outdoor biology for children aged 10 to 15. The individual water-resistant folio for each activity includes biological…