61 - Increasing Student Engagement by Collaboratively Building Field and Lab Anatomical Guides

Poster Board Number: 61
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Abstract Body : There is often broad interest in vertebrate paleontology, presenting a gateway into science for many undergraduates through recruitment of lab and field assistants. In much of paleontology, particularly research that explores whole faunal assemblages, it can take years for students to become proficient in anatomy and taxonomy to feel confident in their role in producing knowledge through research. Increasing students’ familiarity with diverse faunas to increase confidence should be viewed as critical step towards ensuring the success of experiential learning opportunities, like field- and lab-based paleontological research. A collaborative project was designed to engage students in multiple aspects of paleontological research and increase anatomical and taxonomic fluency prior to fieldwork. The product was an easy-to-use field identification guide to give students increased confidence and the ability to take a more active role in initial faunal IDs. This project was carried out over the course of nine months where undergraduates at the University of Texas at Austin (n=12) built a site-specific middle Eocene (Bridgerian) field guide (MBFG). Students used both historic and modern primary literature to assemble lists of potential fauna, providing anatomical context through clade-specific tooth anatomical diagrams. For each clade, major anatomical features were outlined, and potentially present species were listed, briefly defined by significant anatomy, and, where available, figured. All references were managed in a collaborative Mendeley project, including a database of PDFs of all primary literature. Students worked together to design and assemble contextual resources within the MBFG including a scale bar on the cover, a stratigraphic guide, and a climate summary of the Eocene. Students were then invited to apply the field guide during the 2018 and 2019 field seasons. Following the assembly of the MBFG, all students reported feeling more confident in multiple areas including: anatomical IDs, taxonomic IDs, rules surrounding taxonomic nomenclature, engagement with primary literature, acquisition of historical and modern literature, and collaborative project design and workflow. Additionally, multiple students used the skills developed while building the MBFG as foundations for further research in related topics. Undergraduate student taxonomic and anatomical fluency was substantially increased by the assembly of this collaborative field guide, enabling field and lab assistants to feel more confident in their ability to substantively participate in research.