News

Wooster School students currently taking the Deep Learning Initiative course, Complexity and Life, recently completed their first tutorial of the year. Throughout the DLI course, students are introduced to foundational biological understandings in the areas of biodiversity and ecology, inheritance and the molecular basis of evolution, and body systems and homeostasis, and how each of these illustrates the principle that complexity characterizes and sustains life.

Using a tutorial process, the aim of the first trimester was for four research teams of students to document our campus biodiversity. Given the current rate of global change, the value of documenting our biodiversity and tracking how it responds to various stressors and / or management practices over the years has never been greater. This is the 3rd year of our effort to document various forms of biodiversity on our school campus, rounding out what we consider to be our baseline data set from which we will be able to compare changes that we see in the future.

The class of 14 students was divided into four research teams working to assess mammal, bird, wildflower, and pollinator diversity. Each team presented their work to their classmates as well as to several local experts who also shared their experience and knowledge with the class.

Great work Wooster students!