Teaching animal behavior online: A primer for the pandemic and beyond

Behavior courses face numerous challenges when moving to an online environment, as has been made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges occur largely because behavior courses, like most organismal biology courses, often stress experiential learning through laboratories that involve live animals, as well as a lecture component that emphasizes formative assessment, discussion, and critical thinking. Although online behavior courses may be remote, they can still be interactive and social, and designed with inclusive pedagogy. Here, we discuss some of the key decisions that instructors should consider, provide recommendations, and point out new opportunities for student learning that stem directly from the move to online instruction. Specific topics include challenges related to generating an inclusive and engaging online learning environment, synchronous versus asynchronous formats, assignments that enhance student learning, testing format and execution, grade schemes, design of laboratory experiences including opportunities for community science, design of synthetic student projects, and workload balance for students and instructors. We designed this primer both for animal behavior instructors who need to quickly transition to online teaching in the midst of a pandemic, and for those facing such transitions in upcoming terms. Much of the manuscript's content should also be of general interest and value to instructors from all areas of organismal biology who are attempting to quickly transition to online teaching.