TEACHING

Philosophy

Three major objectives for student accomplishment in any course I teach are:

•  to master basic concepts
• to understand the relevance of the material to the world in which students live, and
• to develop the ability to utilize primary literature. 

Given that students have variable learning styles, I present each new concept verbally, in written form (I handwrite notes on an overhead as we go) and graphically. I also find examples of why the material we cover is relevant. For example, after learning about selection and changes in allele frequency, students grasp the relevance of these concepts when we talk about drug-resistant bacteria or pesticide-resistant insects. 

The final objective, helping students learn to use the primary literature, encompasses multiple components. For introductory courses, these include reading graphs and charts and identifying trends, as well as interpreting the results of simple statistical tests. Upper-division students will develop the ability to interpret results from published articles, and to evaluate the meaning of the results. I have developed exercises that help students attain these objective. Read more and see examples here.

Courses Taught

Evolution (BIOL 4974) Spring 2003 at University of Colorado – Denver

Animal Behavior Laboratory (3 semesters)

Human Anatomy Laboratory (1 semester)

Biology – A Human Approach Laboratory (non-majors) (3 semesters)

General Biology Laboratory (1 semester)

Insect Biology Laboratory (1 semester)