An invitation from Archbold Biological Station to participate in:
Part of a nation-wide National Science Foundation funded program Faculty Institutes Reform Science Teaching (FIRST)

• At a globally significant ecological preserve, Archbold Biological Station
• Situated in Central Florida, 2 hours south of Orlando
• For more information on Archbold Biological Station see H. M. Swain (1998) Archbold Biological Station and the MacArthur Agro-Ecology Research Center. Bulletin Ecological Society 79 (1): 114-120.

Workshops Sponsored by

• National Science Foundation (NSF)
  
• Archbold Biological Station (ABS)
  

Synopsis
Archbold Biological Station seeks small teams, each comprised of three faculty/staff, from five regional (Florida) universities/colleges (15 total participants) to join us in an exciting adventure designed to use our field station environment to enrich the teaching of undergraduate ecology and related field-oriented disciplines. The teams participating in this series of NSF sponsored workshops will jointly explore the biological richness and complexity of central Florida ecosystems. Participants will develop and implement teaching approaches that can convey an understanding of these ecosystems, and of the scientific process, to their undergraduate classes at both Archbold and at field sites near their own institutions.

Application Deadline
Application should be sent, by July 24th 1998, to: Dr. Hilary Swain, Archbold Biological Station, P.O. Box 2057, Lake Placid, FL 33862.

• Balance in type and location of institutions
• Breadth of interests and prior experience of participants
• Institutional commitment to the teams and the process

Participant Costs

• The NSF and ABS are underwriting all expenses for workshop participants including room, board, instructional materials, and facilitators.
• Participating teams are responsible for providing their own transportation to and from Archbold and their home institution.
• Institutions are encouraged to plan for undergraduate class(es) to visit Archbold for follow up field trips as part of their curricular programs.

Workshop Goals
Field stations are recognized as some of the most inspirational teaching environments and provide a wonderful platform for implementing methods to enrich the teaching of ecology and other field-oriented disciplines to undergraduates. Archbold Biological Station is one of six field stations in the USA selected to participate in this NSF sponsored project using the field station environment to promote the inclusion of inquiry-based approaches to teaching undergraduates. This series of workshops at Archbold is designed to:

• Build a coalition of Florida institutions, engaged in a partnership with Archbold Biological Station, to establish and support a regional network of faculty and staff committed to enhancing the teaching of undergraduates.
• Use the facilities and field sites at Archbold, in conjunction with explorations of available teaching methods, to increase participant's understanding of Florida ecosystems, and to enhance the ability of faculty to convey complex concepts in field biology to undergraduate classes.
• Develop a series of activity-based, field exercises that can be incorporated in a wide variety of undergraduate courses ranging from introductory to upper-level courses.
• Give all participants the opportunity to pose interesting questions in the field, access scientific information at Archbold, seek instructional support, and develop teaching strategies to address these questions.
• Encourage faculty and institutional interest to use field studies and field sites, such as Archbold, as teaching forums, and promote general interest in Florida ecosystems and species.

Institutional Teams
We seek teams of three individuals from each of five institutions. Each team should consist of at least 1-2 faculty with undergraduate teaching responsibility in ecology, or a related field-oriented discipline, and may consider a member with a science education background. Teams should include one faculty member with administrative responsibility and may consider a postdoctoral member who has an interest in gaining teaching experience.

The Program
The program will consist of a series of workshops including extensive fieldwork, explorations of teaching ideas, relaxed time for informal networking, and collaboration within and among institutional teams;

• Dec/Jan 1998/99. A one day orientation meeting with an introduction to the goals of the project, an exploration of ecosystems at Archbold, an introduction to the facilities of the Station, an opportunity to meet other participants, and a review of the instructional needs of participants.
• May 1999. A 3-day workshop, in which participants will work in field and classroom as collaborative groups discussing, developing, and implementing field projects and teaching approaches.
• June-Nov. 1999. An open invitation period for the participants to visit Archbold at a time of their choice for short-term stay(s) (1-2 days).
• Dec. 1999. Two-day final review workshop.

About Archbold Biological Station
Archbold Biological Station, a privately endowed research facility located in south-central Florida, is devoted to long-term ecological research and conservation, part of the global effort to understand, interpret, and preserve the earth's natural diversity. The facilities incorporate a library, laboratories, reference collections, computer networks, plus dining and housing. Staff and visiting scientists conduct research on the unique scrub habitats of the Lake Wales Ridge and environs. The Station owns and manages a 2,000-ha natural preserve, a relict sand dune habitat with one of the highest concentrations of threatened and endangered species in the USA. Study and management of endangered species and communities form dominant research themes. Ecological research programs are also conducted in other scrub ecosystems regionally, and intensive conservation activities have been focused on the establishment of protected areas throughout the Lake Wales Ridge. Educational programs emphasize research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, providing facilities for teaching field ecology to visiting classes, and environmental instruction for schoolchildren.

A major division of Archbold Biological Station is the MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center (the Ranch), a 4,170-ha working cattle ranch and citrus grove, managed at commercial production levels for research purposes. The Ranch provides staff and visiting scientists an opportunity to measure and monitor ecological effects of agricultural practices at real world scales of space and numbers. The primary mission is to conduct long-term research on the relationships among cattle ranching, citrus production, and the native ecosystems of central and southern Florida. Although ecosystem processes have been altered and rearranged in these agricultural landscapes, elements of native communities have been retained within the vast regional mosaic of pastures and seasonal wetlands. Such agricultural lands may be key to retaining biodiversity and ecosystem function at the landscape-scale in Florida. The Ranch serves as a working laboratory to explore the relationships among the ecological, economic, and socio-political functions of this agricultural ecosystem