Philosophy and General Goals

   My overall teaching goal is to teach students how to think critically about ecology and evolutionary biology and to enhance their ability and motivation to learn after finishing my course. Although I require a good deal of memorization in lower division courses, open-book essay exams and oral presentations are common in my upper-division courses.  All the courses I teach stress the following aspects of critical thinking: problem solving, questioning paradigms, asking appropriate questions, communicating complex ideas, utilizing deductive and inductive reasoning, and integrating observational and quantitative skills. My teaching style includes a mix of standard lectures, group discussions, and interactions out of the classroom. I use modern technological advances such as interactive powerpoint presentations, posting important class information on the Internet, and using sophisticated equipment in laboratory courses when appropriate.

   Evaluation of student performance is an important part of the teaching process. For introductory courses, I rely on standard techniques of written exams and quizzes, focusing mostly on essays and short answers but also utilizing multiple-choice questions for courses with more than 50 students. When appropriate, I also include small group discussions in lower division courses. For grading upper division courses I focus mostly on advanced written and oral assignments. Written assignments include composing publishable papers or critiques of existing literature. For oral assignments, students are required to elucidate complex issues in ecology and evolutionary biology via exercises such as critiques of primary literature, group discussions, structured debates, and responses to questions during lectures.

   I view biology, chemistry, and statistics as experiential undertakings, and I strive to involve students in my research whenever it is appropriate. I always provide research opportunities to both graduate and undergraduate students via research assistantships and various research experience for undergraduate grants. In addition, I have made it a priority to recruit research students who are underrepresented in my fields of study (ecology, chemistry, and statistics).  Related to this, and in an area usually assigned to service or outreach, I have received multiple grants from Earthwatch Institute to teach and conduct research with teachers, high school students, and volunteers from the general public since 1996. Every year, I work with 5-8 groups of volunteers (usually about 10 volunteers per group) for 10 days at all of our field sites across the Americas. This has been one of my most rewarding experiences as an educator, and despite criticisms from some reviewers about including nonscientists as part of a research team, the quality of the data have been excellent, as I illustrate below. In my opinion, the teaching obligations of academics include teaching the general public and interacting with K-12 students and educators.

Teaching Experience and Interests

   Teaching has long been a part of my career goals, and my experiences in the classroom continue to reward my decision to teach at the university level. At UNM, I would be most interested in teaching courses in Ecology, Conservation Biology and Diversity, but my extensive teaching experience would allow for many different possibilities. I have taught at several different universities and schools as a teacher, teaching assistant, lecturer, and professor. The main courses I have taught at the university level (UC Santa Cruz, CSU Fort Collins, Mesa State College, Tulane University, UNR) include: General Biology, Introductory Biochemistry, Introductory Biology, Biometry, Ecology, Ecological Methods, Field Ecology, Research Design, Quantitative Ecology, Entomology, Tropical Ecosystems, Plant-Animal Interactions, Global Change, Conservation Biology, Independent Studies, Advanced Biostatistics, Insects and Humans, and Honors Thesis. I developed 8 new undergraduate courses at Mesa State College and 5 new graduate courses at Tulane University, and many of the courses that I teach are interdisciplinary.