STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

I view teaching at the college level as an interactive endeavor. It should be an exchange between students and a professor (hence the “inter-“ part) that involves more than passive exposure to information (hence the “active” part). My goals as a biology teacher are 1) to communicate concepts in biology in an interesting and varied manner, 2) to promote active learning and 3) to be a good leaner myself. I also hope that my enthusiasm for biology and animal behavior turn students on to these subjects.

One of the most important things a teacher can do is to provide an environment that is conducive to learning. This includes making the subject interesting and relevant. I try to convey the importance of the study of biology by relating the subject to current events and everyday situations in students’ lives. For example, when I lectured on bacteria in the introductory biology class I taught last fall, we talked about anthrax and its resistant endospores. A conducive learning environment also includes fair treatment and concern for all students. I return assignments and exams promptly or inform students of the reasons for any delays. This allows students to learn from their mistakes while the material is still foremost in their minds and shows them that their work is important to me. I also respond promptly to students’ e-mails and make myself available outside of office hours whenever possible.

I use multi-media, such as videos, slides and PowerPoint presentations to hold students’ interest and provide variety in class. In addition, by presenting material in multiple ways, I help address different learning styles. I am aware that students have different learning modes and that as a teacher it is my responsibility to present material in ways that cover as many modes as possible. When I taught meiosis last semester, I wrote out the important steps, showed animations of the process, and had the students work in pairs using colored Popsicle sticks to represent chromosomes. This allowed students to learn the material in an auditory, visual, and experiential way.

Students need to be engaged to facilitate learning. I try to accomplish this in at least three ways. First, when I am lecturing and not using other forms of media, I prefer writing on overheads. An overhead allows me to face the students as I talk, and by writing with the students it is difficult to go too fast and present too much material at once. If there is a lot of material that needs to be covered, I provide a handout for the students, which is not completely filled in. This reduces the time necessary for note- taking and leaves more time for doing laboratory or other active exercises. However, the students must participate in writing down some of the definitions rather than just passively hearing them. Second, I like to ask questions during lecture, such as asking students their definition before presenting one to them. It helps me to discover preconceptions and misconceptions, as well as providing the students with an opportunity to think, rather than just writing down the “correct” definition. The third way I engage students is through assignments that promote active learning. For example, I created a short assignment in the Ecology recitation sections I taught where the students used a web site to run simulations of population growth. Most of the exercise involved doing set manipulations, but students were also required to explore the model themselves and run three simulations of their own choosing. I feel it is important for students to do some learning and exploring on their own, rather than having set answers from the instructor, even in introductory courses.

My favorite part of teaching is interacting with students in lecture and in lab. I particularly enjoy labs because of the increased opportunity for one-on-one contact with students and the hands-on experience laboratories provide for students. In addition, I feel that involving students in research is an important way for them to learn about science. For the animal behavior course I taught, a significant part of the laboratory was a research project involving animal behavior that groups of students conducted in the last few weeks of the semester. Whether they conduct an independent project, or participate in some aspect of my research, my point is to get students doing science, not just reading and hearing about it.

If I expect my students to learn, I should be doing the same. I think it is important to stay current in my field both in terms of current research and current teaching methods so that what I present to students is not out-dated. That is why I intend to continue participating in workshops and symposia on college teaching, as well as attending research conferences.