Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy -BIO 401

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  BIOL401
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a biological sciences course for undergraduate or graduate students by Dr. George Brusch IV at California State University San Marcos. The open textbook provides students with accessible, affordable, and customizable learning resources that enhance their educational experience. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to reduce the financial burden of educational materials, making high-quality resources more accessible to all learners. Most student access the open textbook in their university Canvas page and through the internet.

Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy - BIOL 401
Brief Description of course highlights:  Comparison of similarities and differences among vertebrate groups on the basis of structure and function. Emphasis will be placed on the evolution and vertebrate structures, new roles for derived and ancestral characters, adaptation of new functions, relationship to life style, life history and evolutionary phylogeny. A major goal of this course is to generate a greater understanding of the evolutionary processes and concomitant structural changes that have occurred among vertebrates including humans. Laboratory study includes dissection, and analysis of organ systems, and evolutionary innovations among representative vertebrates.  https://catalog.csusm.edu/search_advanced.php?cur_cat_oid=10&search_database=Search&search_db=Search&cpage=1&ecpage=1&ppage=1&spage=1&tpage=1&location=33&filter%5Bkeyword%5D=BIOL+401 

Student Population: Most students who take this course are junior or senior biology students. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 210, BIOL 211, and BIOL 212, or enrollment in the Biological Sciences graduate program.

Learning or student outcomes:  Upon completion of BIOL 401, students will be able to: 

• Compare and contrast anatomical characteristics across major groups of tetrapods 
• Understand principles of structure & function in an evolutionary context  
• Apply anatomical terminology 
• Access, interpret, and reference the primary scientific literature   

Key challenges faced and how resolved: I completely removed any type of textbook from this course. We cannot, however, cover absolutely everything in detail during our ~3 hours of class time each week. It is much easier to just assign extra textbook pages or chapters but to make this course no-cost I’ve needed to spend considerable amounts of time creating detailed supplementary materials for the students to access. Because I aim to make this no cost, this also means I need to make the material from scratch so there is no licensing issues. This took time and I had to be very patient. I had planned to make this course no cost the first semester I taught it and I needed to slow down, breath, and admit that it was going to take more time to truly make this a quality, no-cost course. 

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title:  Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy - BIOL 401 Readings

Brief Description: I created lecture presentations, handouts, worksheets, practice quizzes, and study-guides from scratch. All of these materials are available to students enrolled in the course and there is no expiration date on the Canvas container, although students might lose access once they graduate. I also made all files downloadable so students can keep them indefinitely if they wish.

Please provide a link to access the resource.  Please email George Brusch (gbrusch@csusm.edu) if you want access to any of the course materials. 

Student access: How and where do students access materials? Students access the materials for this course primarily through their university Canvas website. 

Supplemental resources: I provide detailed power points, study guides, practice exams, and critical thinking questions to students through their Canvas website. 

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  I used to ask students to purchase the 6th edition of Vertebrates: Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution by Kardong That textbook was typically ~$110 new or ~$70 to rent for the semester. 

License:. For access to the classroom resources, interested parties can contact George Brusch directly via email: gbrusch@csusm.edu

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process
Please provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost. My major motivation for using an open-source textbook is because it is free. This alleviates the financial burden on students, making education more accessible and equitable.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? I was trained as an animal biologist so I was fortunate to know the important information going in. It took a fair amount of time going through other textbooks to pick and choose the type of information and how to deliver the content. I used other professors lectures as a guide for the major topics and built up my resources from there. 

Sharing Best Practices: Be patient! This process can take a significant amount of your time. Don’t push it too much and remember that once you’ve made your materials, they are 100% yours to edit as you see fit.

Describe any challenges you experienced, and lessons learned. The time it took to create all of the resources students would need was significant and much more than I anticipated. I learned to slow down. I didn’t want to rush it and create a lower-quality no-cost course. 

Instructor Name - Dr. George A Brusch IV
I am an Assistant Professor at the California State University San Marcos. 

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.csusm.edu/profiles/index.html?u=gbrusch
 
Please describe the courses you teach:  I teach introductory biology courses, animal physiology, and a variety of upper division physiology electives.

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  I love teaching and have dedicated my career to it—I get to educate and learn at the same time. I believe that my ultimate goal as an educator is to inspire a love of learning, foster critical thinking, and keep students engaged throughout the process. I have found, through trial and error, that the best way to avoid glassy-eyed students during a course is a mixture of content delivered via slides, models, drawings, and discussion, intermixed with videos, songs, and corny jokes delivered in a way that edu-tains students (i.e., educates and entertains). I have learned that to effectively reach students I need to remain malleable in my teaching style, and I rely on a variety of techniques in and out of the classroom to engage my students, including potentially embarrassing myself as we work through difficult concepts. Some students need contact in office hours, others thrive in the laboratory, and I have to respect that everyone can have a slightly different learning style.