Re: PaleoEducation Outline

["Patricia Kane-Vanni" <pkv1@erols.com>]

Tiffany:
    I am a museum dino docent as well as a former teacher and paleostudent
and have found that you can cover the same subject matter for all age groups
in Paleontology, but just focus on the capabilities.  For HS seniors you can
cover all the info more in-depth.    Review as many Paleo-texts and
Encyclopedias as feasible & get plenty of visual aids as well as fossil
examples to illustrate your points.

 Depending on time constraints:
        Overview of Geologic time
        Tectonic Plate Movements
        How Fossils are formed
        Fieldwork and fossil prep
        Kinds of Fossilized Life
        Vertebrate/Dino Fossils
        Different/Variety of dino genera
        Compare structure and distribution to present wildlife
        Extinction
        Popular Dino Culture

Along with the others recommended by other list members there are a number
of good resources.  Some time ago (on-list) Gunter Vanacker recommended and
I also endorse:

Introduction to the Study of Dinosaurs
by Anthony J. Martin
published July 2001,440 pages, 184 illustrations
ISBN 0632044365, Paperback, price $74.95


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Definition of a Dinosaur
Overview of Scientific Methods
Paleontology and Geology as Sciences
Importance of Knowing the History of Dinosaur Studies
Dinosaur Bones: Their Formation, Name and Features
Basic Concepts in Dinosaur Taphonomy
Basic Information about Dinosaur Tracks
Basic Information about Dinosaur Eggs and Nests
Dinosaur Feeding Habits
Introduction to Dinosaur Evolution
Overview of the Clade Theropoda
Overview of the Clade Sauropodomorpha
Overview of the Clade Ornithopoda
Overview of the Clade Thyreophora
Overview of the Clade Marginocephalia
Dinosaurs, Birds and Extinctions


more information can be found at

www.blackwell-science.com/dinosaurs

The website even gives you free access to 3 sample chapters (Definition of a
Dinosaur, Basic Concepts in Dinosaur Taphonomy, Dinosaurs Birds and
Extinctions) and a useful glossary (pdf format) for a total 100 free pages !
Dozens of images (jpg format) are also available !

The webpage "for the instructor" lists interesting links that include the
excellent "Dinosaurs: A Natural History" by Thomas Holtz.


Textbooks on the subject of dinosaurs are quite rare, this new publication
is comparable to the popular;

Dinosaurs: The Textbook
by Spencer G. Lucas
Price $86.65
Paperback - 304 pages 3rd edition (July 23, 1999)
McGraw-Hill Higher Education; ISBN 0073036420


my impression of "Introduction to the Study of Dinosaurs";

1. Although the complete array of anatomical terms (for all bones found in
dinosaur skeletons) is listed, there are too few illustrations that
visualise these terms.
2. Great to see inclusion of the chapters on tracks and eggs, they provide
an excellent short overview of these unusual fossils and their importance
(although I've already discovered an error; the oogenus Prismatoolithus is
NOT referable to ornithopods, but instead to theropods; this is probably
still based on the initial evaluation of Prismatoolithus levis belonging to
Orodromeus, we now know it belongs to troodontids).
3. The author links the study of dinosaurs to a historical perspective and
other areas of scientific research (incl. geology, evolution, taphonomy,
mathematics, physics ...) which is very clever.
4. As with most other textbooks, the number of photographs included is
limited, but there are some pictures of rare mounted skeletons
(Giganotosaurus, Utahraptor, juvenile Stegosaurus ...).
5. The author clearly supports the use of cladistics and phylogenetic
classification, but the chapter on Theropoda unfortunately doesn't give much
details on the diverse clades of this group of dinosaurs, there is little
information on the different clades within Coelurosauria.

To summarize, this is serious competition for other dinosaur textbooks. I
think that S.G. Lucas' textbook still remains the favourite for classroom
use, but A.J. Martin's book is better suited for the growing number of
people who learn about dinosaurs through self-study.

(Thanks to Gunter Van Acker)
GunterVanAcker.mesozoic@pi.be or Gunter.VanAcker@Electrabel.be



Patricia Kane-Vanni, Esq.
pkv1@erols.com  or  pkvanni@sas.upenn.edu
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tiff" <t7i5ff@yahoo.com>
To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2001 11:12 AM


> Hello, I was just curious if someone could help me. In
> my Science class, we were asked to choose our own
> topics, I picked Paleontology. Since my teacher isn't
> very knowledgeable on the topic, he suggested that I
> teach that week. I was wondering if anyone could
> suggest some good points to cover for a week
> discussion for a group of high school seniors. Any
> suggestions would be of great help to me.
> Thank you in advance.
> Tiffany
>