** Note: This is a flexible schedule class WITHOUT weekly pre-scheduled live meetings.  Course materials will be delivered via interactive lessons on Pear Deck, quizzes, assignments, and a final project with detailed instructor feedback.  

This course may be used as a part of the “Ornithologist in Training Curriculum Series”.  Please see the section below entitled “About the Ornithologist in Training Curriculum Series” to learn how this curriculum series can provide your learner with a comprehensive multi-year curriculum in Ornithology culminating in the development of skills in independent ornithology field research and college-prep scientific writing. 
 
With over 10,000 species worldwide today, birds are one of the most recognizable and diverse groups of living animals on the planet.  Learn about the fossils and phylogenetic studies that provide evidence of how the highly successful avian body plan evolved gradually over millions of years, primarily during the Jurassic and Cretaceous from theropod dinosaurs. The earliest birds diversified during the Late-Jurassic and Cretaceous and then experienced a massive die off (like their dinosaur relatives) at the end of the Cretaceous.  After the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, the surviving avian lineage explosively diversified into the groups of living birds that we see today.  


Course Components:

Weekly Lessons: On Monday morning each week students will receive a link to one interactive lesson using Pear Deck.  Lessons are designed to take 20-40 minutes to complete. Pear Deck lessons include slide visuals, audio recordings, video, and website links to explore as well as opportunities for students to respond to questions and prompts embedded in the lesson.  Students will receive review sheets that include the lesson content, student responses, and individualized feedback from the instructor for lessons that are complete on time (by the end of the day on Wednesday of the week they are assigned). Students who have not completed the PearDeck lesson by Wednesday will continue to have access to the lesson throughout the course, but will receive a general review sheet rather than an individualized review sheet with instructor feedback.  

Weekly Quizzes: On Monday morning each week students will receive a link to a 10 question quiz on Google Forms.  Quizzes are “open notes”, and students may refer to the Pear Deck lesson and any additional notes they have taken while submitting responses.  Quizzes are due at the end of the week on Sunday, are designed to take 10-15 minutes, and will provide immediate feedback that students may use to check for understanding of the course material.  Students may wish to take the quiz after receiving the lesson review sheet on Thursday.    

Weekly Assignments: Assignments allow students to extend the lesson or synthesize what they have learned by completing a hands-on activity, interpreting and discussing scientific literature, or completing a review/summary activity.  Weekly assignments are designed to take 15-30 minutes to complete and are due at the end of the week on Sunday.  

Final Project: The final project is completed during the last week of the course.  Final projects will integrate knowledge and understanding from at least 2 of course lessons and will require the student to create something new.  Final projects can take many forms including, but not limited to: a 3-D model/craft, artwork, an infographic, a video, a photo collage, etc…  Students will be provided with project examples and a guideline rubric at the beginning of the week.  Projects are designed to take 1-2 hours to complete.  Students will share their work and comment on one another’s projects through a discussion post, and students will receive individual feedback from the instructor based on the guidelines in the rubric.  

Notes About Assignments and Grades: All assignments submitted on time will receive individual feedback from the instructor. Grades are optional in this course and the grading scale and grading methods are specified in the course syllabus. Students who wish to receive a grade (percentage and letter grade) should notify the instructor by the start of the 2nd week of class. The full course syllabus will be provided on the first day of class and is available early upon request. Just message the instructor if you would like to view the full course syllabus prior to registering.


Course Topic Outline:

Week 1: Archaeopteryx and early discoveries in the quest for the origin of birds
Birds are an incredibly diverse and recognizable group of living vertebrates whose evolutionary origins began to be uncovered with the emergence of Darwin’s Origin of Species and the discovery of the fossil Archaeopteryx.  

Week 2: Introduction to theropod dinosaurs and bird-like features in non-avian theropod dinosaurs
Theme: Birds are theropod dinosaurs and many of the hallmark features of modern living birds such as feathers, wishbones, and egg brooding first evolved in the dinosaur ancestors of birds.  

Week 3: The evolution of feathers and flight
The earliest feathers evolved in non-flying dinosaurs for purposes such as display and insulation, and flight evolved later in primitive birds and in their close non-avian relatives.  

Week 4: Early avian history (Avialae/Aves)
The transition from non-bird dinosaurs to birds was gradual and the earliest birds did not possess all of the distinguishing features of today’s living birds such as a keeled sternum, pygostyle, and a beak.  

Week 5: Diversification of Neornithes (modern birds)
After mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period, birds underwent explosive diversification resulting in more than 10,000 living species of birds that we see today.  

Week 6: Final Project


About the Ornithologist in Training Curriculum Series

This course is a part of the “Ornithologist in Training” curriculum series.  Each course may be taken as a stand-alone course, or in series using any order.  

Learners seeking a comprehensive multi-year curriculum in Ornithology may want to consider taking two courses that pair together in one semester.  Below is an example of how a learner could use the Ornithologist in Training curriculum series to take 3 full years of ornithology courses that culminate in the development of skills in independent ornithology field research and college-prep scientific writing.  

- Year 1, Semester 1: The Evolution of Birds
Ornithologist in Training: The Origin and Diversification of Birds (6 weeks, 1-2hr per week)
Ornithologist in Training: Bird Evolutionary Biology and Systematics (6 weeks, 1-2 hr per week)

- Year 1, Semester 2: Bird Anatomy, Physiology, and Adaptations for Flight 
Ornithologist in Training: Anatomy and Physiology of Birds (6 weeks, 1-2 hr per week)
Ornithologist in Training: Bird Feathers and Flight (not developed yet)

- Year 2, Semester 1: Bird Behavior
Ornithologist in Training: Bird Foraging Behavior  (not developed yet)
Ornithologist in Training: Breeding Biology of Birds (not developed yet)

- Year 2, Semester 2: Ecology of Birds
Ornithologist in Training: Bird Migration and Dispersal  (not developed yet)
Ornithologist in Training: Bird Population and Community Ecology (not developed yet)

- Year 3, Semester 1: Avian Research and Scientific Writing
Ornithologist in Training: Avian Research and Scientific Writing (12 weeks, 3-4hr per week)

- Year 3, Semester 2: After completing the course Ornithologist in Training: Avian Research and Scientific Writing, dedicated ornithology students often use subsequent semesters to refine their scientific writing/presentation skills and pursue research interests through the  1-to-1 independent research mentoring opportunities provided by the course Ornithologist in Training: Avian Field Ecology Project Private Mentoring

If you are looking for additional, live support from the instructor as well as an opportunity to study and work on materials for this course in the company of other Ornithologist in Training students, please consider subscribing in one or more of my “open office hours” sections as you complete this course. This is a good option for students who enjoy live instruction, have a lot of questions for the instructor, need a little bit of accountability and motivation to work on course materials at a set time each week, and/or who want to get to know some other Ornithologist in Training students.  Additional details about what to expect during office hours are included in the listing. Link to available office hours: https://outschool.com/classes/ornithologist-in-training-open-office-hours-9mrHNp19?usid=jd8koNrm&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link