Active learning in the classroom and beyond

EBIO 4040: Plant Ecology
Fall 2015 Semester

As part of the CU Boulder EBIO Department's goal of increasing graduate training in teaching, I participated as a Graduate Part-Time Instructor during the Fall 2015 semester.

Course Description
This course was designed to provide students with the skills and background to understand key concepts in plant ecology. We covered content ranging from plant carbon/water/light processing all the way through plant ecosystem ecology. Much emphasis was focused on reading, understanding, and interpreting primary literature related to plant ecology, to prepare students for independent learning outside the classroom in the future. Additionally, students submitted regular written assignments and in class projects, as all scientists are writers and as a rule we can only get better through practicing!

Graduate Writing Cooperative
Spring 2013- Spring 2017

During the spring semester of 2013 Dr. Nichole Barger created a seminar designed to provide graduate students with a common language and peer support for students working on writing projects. This seminar produced the paper you see linked below, and started a department-wide conversation about peer interactions while writing. Aside from the seminar, now taught during spring semesters in EBIO at CU Boulder (led by two graduate students; I led in the spring 2014 term) I also maintained a non-credit based writing Cooperative that met weekly year-round (through 2017). As a post-doc I have created writing cooperatives and accountability groups with peers (ESA accountabilibuddy program) and with labmates to stay engaged with writing during otherwise isolating times.

Graduate training in teaching

As scientists in academia a large portion of our job description frequently includes the responsibility of teaching both undergraduate and graduate level students. Despite this eventual expectation, few graduate programs adequately prepare graduate students for leading full courses and designing course content, nor do they provide training in teaching methods supported by research. My colleagues and I proposed a method of addressing this shortcoming, and some of the key solutions that provide the greatest gain without taking up too much time on behalf of both students and mentors (linked below).