Biology Education Faculty
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Bill Barstow | |
Peggy Brickman | |
Kathrin Stanger-Hall | |
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Opportunities in Biology Education
The Plant Biology Department encourages graduate students pursuing careers in which education plays an important role. Such careers include teaching at primarily undergraduate institutions or at the secondary school level, and public outreach positions at botanical gardens, conservatories and museums. Recent graduates of our program have successfully secured such positions. We believe that effective communication with the general public, as well as education of non-science and science majors, are crucial for the welfare and advancement of the discipline, and we offer a number of opportunities and mechanisms to promote effective teaching and communication for our Masters and Ph.D. students:
Teaching and Laboratory Assistants. Every Masters student is required to serve as a teaching or laboratory assistant for at least one semester and every doctoral student teaches at least two semesters. Many of our graduate students do additional teaching. Typically, the courses they cover are the lab components of introductory undergraduate biology and plant biology: BIOL 1103/1104, BIOL 1107/1108 and PBIO 1210/1220. Assisting in upper level courses is also possible, especially as graduate students gain experience. Students awarded laboratory assistantships gain valuable teaching experience, including familiarity with inquiry-based exercises and instructional strategies.
Teaching Seminar (GRSC 7770). Offered every semester and headed by Professors Lisa Donovan and Michelle Momany, this course offers graduate students instruction in methods of teaching and learning as applied in biology classrooms. The group employs oral presentations, mostly by students, and class discussions to explore effective teaching skills. Students are actively involved in selecting topics and write a teaching philosophy statement. Senior graduate students may apply for a Graduate School Assistantship to teach this class.
Teaching Internship Program provides opportunities for senior Plant Biology graduate students to obtain mentored, documented experience in preparing and delivering lectures and/or in leading class discussions. Students receive credit for PBIO 7360.
The Department is instituting two new courses that will allow graduate students to receive academic credit for mentoring undergraduate research (Mentoring in Plant Biology, PBIO 7500) and for initiating and conducting special projects that will enhance their teaching experience and teaching skills (Special Teaching Projects in Plant Biology, PBIO 7510).
Our Peer Teaching Evaluation Program allows graduate students to request fellow students to attend their classes and offer constructive feedback. Both participants benefit from the experience.
Our Teaching Resources Library in room 2611 contains reference books, videos and journals on various aspects of teaching and learning.
The Plant Biology Department provides a video camera to record student presentations in the Teaching Seminar, in other seminar classes and in classroom situations. Students who view their presentations get valuable feedback to improve their seminar skills.
The Plant Biology Department devotes a departmental seminar each academic year to the subject of teaching. Nationally known innovators in biology teaching have visited the department as part of this program. Presentations in previous years have led to implementation of inquiry-based lab exercises and our course in sciece writing.
Students enrolled in seminar classes offered by the Plant Biology Department may receive constructive feedback from the instructor of the course following their presentations.
The University has a strong Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) whose mission is to provide campus-wide leadership on matters relating to instruction. Much of their program is directed toward graduate teaching assistants. The office's website states that it is "dedicated to providing instructioinal support for the pedagogical development of graduate assistants in preparation for instructional responsibilities in their careers."
WebCT (Web Course Tools) is widely used on campus to provide web-based instructional resources. Graduate students are encouraged to attend workshops and otherwise gain experience with on-line instructional technology.
The University provides Outstanding Teaching Assistant and Graduate School Excellence in Teaching awards for graduate teaching assistants. OISD offers a competitive, year-long TA Mentoring Program for award-winning TAs. The Wilbur Duncan Award is given regularly to a Plant Biology graduate student who meets standards of excellence in teaching, research and service to the Department and/or University.
