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Rise of the Archosaurs: Lagerpetids to Pterosaurs

In this ongoing class students will learn about various species on the pterosaur family tree.
Chidumebi Ikechi Njoku-Browne
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:
(855)
Class
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What's included

1 live meeting
35 mins in-class hours per week

Class Experience

US Grade 5 - 8
Beginner - Intermediate Level
Students will be learning about Pterosaurs, their structure, their genera and their evolution.
Each week will cover a different Pterosaur family, whether at the beginning with the hopping Lagerpetids, or the giants of the Cretaceous period. 
Further topics will go over Pterosaur body structure, locomotion, respiratory function, walking  gait etc.
My class will be structured along the Pterosaur family tree. However, since the class is ongoing, when this class reaches the end of the line, it will reset for new students. This structure will also accommodate for when new species or information are inevitably discovered.
I will teach using a mixture of slides, discussions and legally sourced video clips. I primarily want my students to understand the Pterosaurs so that they can learn to recognize them on their own afterwards. 
My teaching style can be described as interactive.
Learners will get to interact with me through discussion and lecture topics primarily. I encourage students to ask questions for bits they don't understand as some terms might seem a bit obtuse.
There is no required experience or knowledge needed.

The class schedule will be as follows per this example:

Week of January 11: Lagerpetids
Week of January 18: Caviramids
Week of January 25: Eopterosaurs
Week of February 1: Eudimorphodontoids
Week of February 8: Macronychopterans

Many more sections will be added for all the different groups, and once it gets to the end of their evlution, it will start from Lagerpetids again.
Learning Goals
Students will learn about the various members of the Pterosaur family. They will learn anatomical terms (ex. pycnofibres, the fuzzy feather like feature that keeps them warm) and features (ex. how they are able to fold their wings and how they take off from the ground). They will learn how pterosaurs evolved, when they evolved and the sheer diversity of the family tree.
learning goal

Other Details

Parental Guidance
As this involves nature, hunting techniques will be discussed, including how some of these pterosaurs killed their prey. I must warn that some documentary clips will show Pterosaurs killing their prey.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
All art used is done with the consent and knowledge of the artists involved. Some of the artwork used was commissioned specifically for this class. For those who wish for easy access for some of my source material listed below are good literature I have used: “26. the rise and fall of the pterosaur empire.” Pterosaurs, 2013, pp. 259–264, https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400847655.259. “3. pterosaur beginnings.” Pterosaurs, 2013, pp. 12–22, https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400847655.12. “4.The pterosaur skeleton.” Pterosaurs, 2013, pp. 23–38, https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400847655.23. BUCHMANN, RICHARD, and TAISSA RODRIGUES. “The evolution of pneumatic foramina in pterosaur vertebrae.” Anais Da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, vol. 91, no. suppl 2, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201920180782. D’Alba, Liliana. “Pterosaur plumage.” Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 3, no. 1, 2018, pp. 12–13, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0767-0. Hyder, Elaine. “Evolution of the pterosaur pelvis.” Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 2012, https://doi.org/10.4202/app.2011.1109. Schaller, Dietrich. The Superordinate Pterosaur Evolution as Deduced from the Evolution of Their Wings. F. Pfeil, 2007. Witton, M. P. Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomy. Princeton University Press, 2013.
Joined June, 2019
4.9
855reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
I was trained in Paleontology under Phil Currie at the University of Alberta. I have gone on fossil digs in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming with paleontologist Paul Sereno. I have also been mentored by Paleontologist Thomas Holtz. I have also been an educator at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum since 2019. 

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Live Group Class
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$12

weekly
1x per week
35 min

Completed by 6 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-16
3-6 learners per class

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