I have been fortunate to have several teachers that nurtured my development as a scientist. My teaching focuses on exciting students about the living world by immersing them in a diversity of experiences that were most influential to me as a student. Students in my classes spend substantial time in the field learning to identify organisms and collect/analyze data, design experiments and observational studies to test hypotheses, and discuss the current scientific literature. Below are summaries of the courses I taught while a Visiting Assistant Professor at Lees-McRae College (2020 - 2022). At Hope College, I will be teaching General Biology (Ecology and Organismal Biology) and Vertebrate Zoology.
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BIO 211 - General Zoology
This course was a guided tour through the evolutionary history of animals, covering everything from sponges to vertebrates. We also covered some of the earliest "animal-like non-animals" and core concepts like evolution, natural selection, and phylogenetics. Students learned basic microscopy and dissection techniques in lab. This course was a rare opportunity for me to capitalize on my broad interests in everything from butterflies and moths to snakes and birds in my ongoing quest to deliver a course that poorly approximates a David Attenborough documentary.
BIO 441 - Ornithology
Inspired by Craig Benkman, I taught this course with a focus on the evolutionary and behavioral ecology of birds. We explored topics ranging from the polygyny threshold model and sensory drive to the benefits and costs of flocking and what plant parts birds eat and why. A major focus of this course was on reading and discussing the primary literature. Lab was largely devoted to identifying ~300 regional bird species by sight and sound with weekly field excursions, though students also learn how to make and analyze spectograms of bird vocalizations, visualize migration using NEXRAD radar, mist-net birds, and more.
BIO 433 - Principles of Ecology
This course explored core topics in modern ecology: everything from nutrient cycling and energy flow to adaptation and the latitudinal diversity gradient. The emphasis was on major patterns in the natural world and their underlying mechanisms. We read and discuss classic and contemporary papers in ecology on a wide range of topics. In lab, we conducted several studies over the semester in local ecosystems with the goal of testing hypotheses, describing natural populations, and introducing students to techniques in modern ecology.
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