Students will read a brief informational text on behavioral mapping and then actually go out into the field and record behaviors of wetland species during a field trip or parent-guided outing.
Students will record data in three different ways: ad lib, instantaneous scans, and focal animal sampling to differentiate the main types of behavioral mapping completed by researchers. This is an excellent tool to teach students how to record data and to talk about the challenges of doing field research versus completing experiments under controlled conditions.
Students may work independently or in cooperative groups.
Follow-up work can be done as a research project. Investigation of the species observed can help enlighten students as to why the animals were partaking in certain behaviors.