UtSTA 2024: Out-Of-This-World Science Teaching

Developing and using models can be one of the most challenging science practices for students and teachers alike. On the other hand, utilizing models naturally lends itself to all the other science practices and is a perfect tool for digging deep into a phenomenon. In this session, we’ll use a simplified version of a model developed by HawkWatch International scientist Dave Oleyar to calculate the density of nesting cavities by habitat type for the five smallest species of forest owls in North America. From there, we’ll use our models to predict the impact of various landscape changes on cavity-nesting raptors and come up with recommendations for land managers that want to preserve these important members of their ecosystems.