Marine Biology Case Study

Two days ago, Daniel, an upper, was standing knee-deep in a tide pool on a stretch of New Hampshire seacoast, collecting green algae and starfish with 13 of his marine biology classmates.

Today, he is back on campus in an airy, light-filled classroom lab peering through a microscope at Paguras longicarpus of the Paguridae family – more commonly known as the hermit crab. He is making a quick sketch of the elusive marine creature when his instructor, Dr. Sydnee Goddard, directs her students' attention to the image projected from her microscope onto a full-size screen at the front of the room. "Here's the green algae we collected," she tells them. Together students and teacher examine the intricate fronds of the algae and discover an unexpected bonus – nematodes flitting across the screen.
 
With its spacious classroom-labs, Phelps Science Center enables students like Sloan, John and Flora to move easily from discussion to experimentation and back again.

Today's marine biology class is a case study in the difference the science center makes in teaching and learning at Exeter. Class begins with discussion around the Harkness table and review of the marine specimens the students collected on their recent field trip. The students carefully note where each species was found – in the low-, mid- or high-tide pool. With the conclusion of discussion, students move from the Harkness table to the common lab that adjoins Goddard's classroom, where they retrieve their specimen buckets from the cold storage room, a large walk-in refrigerator with humidity and temperature controls. Finally, they return to the classroom and sit at lab stations to view their finds through the microscope.
 
"When students come into a classroom and sit around a table," says biology instructor Rich Aaronian, "they're different people."

"The transition from the Harkness table to the lab is very efficient in the new classrooms, and the proximity of the common lab means we can move back and forth between the two. The design allows the students and teacher to circulate, to go from discussion to experimentation and back."

Daniel agrees there's a whole new feeling to being a science student in Phelps. "The lab stations are like mini-Harkness tables. With the lab stations, you can ask for help from everyone at the table." In addition to encouraging greater interaction between students, the lab stations are equipped with networked computers and flat-screen monitors. Data from any computer can be projected on the overhead screen for all to see.

For Charlie, a senior, it's more than the changes in the classroom that make the difference. New equipment like the marine tank in the common lab allows for scientific investigation that simply was not possible in the old facility. "Having the water table allows us to keep the animal specimens we collect much longer. We can really observe them," he says. The shallow touch tank is home to an array of aquatic organisms, including the hard to spot eel.

A marine tank and adjoining cold storage room allow biology students to preserve specimens they have collected along the New Hampshire seacoast and observe them over time.  

Interested in learning more?

Read about the rare lobster that found its way to Exeter's marine tank...