Teaching

Because of my broad interests in organismal and evolutionary biology, I have been involved with the teaching of a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate courses. I employee different methods of instruction (e.g., lecture, group discussion), as well as utilize different environments (i.e., classroom, laboratory, field). All of this has developed into an effective teaching program.

During the past few years I have primarily taught the following courses:

Evolution (Bio 319). Upper division non-majors course. Intended for students not concentrating in the sciences, providing an introduction to the concepts and processes of biological evolution. Major areas covered: (1) history of evolutionary thought; (2) evidence for evolution; (3) phylogenies and their use; (4) genetics and evolutionary processes; (5) overview of the evolution and diversity of Life; (6) human evolution; and (7) consequences of an evolutionary worldview for our society. As an evolutionary biologist, I strongly believe that offering a general education course in evolution is very important since evolution is recognized as one of the unifying principles of biology and increasingly our society hears much about evolution, and yet evolution is still quite misunderstood by the public. Thus, a few years ago I “resurrected” and redeveloped this course. pdf of syllabus available below

Genetics and Evolution (Bio 352). Upper division undergraduate majors course, covering the following main topics: 1) transmission genetics; 2) population genetics; and 3) evolution. I have recently rotated into this course, having taught the “evolution” portion three times. I will be teaching the “population genetics” portion in Spring ’10 and the whole course in Summer ’10. pdf of syllabus available below

Herpetology (Bio 523). Upper division undergraduate/graduate level course providing a broad survey of the biology of amphibians and reptiles. Lectures cover their ecology, life history, behavior, and physiology. Labs concentrate on amphibian and reptile morphology, diversity, and evolution. pdf of syllabus available below

Phylogenetic Inference (Bio 740). Graduate level course primarily focusing on the theory and methodology of phylogenetic inference and the use of phylogenies for comparative studies. In addition to lecture, a lab promotes training in the use of computer programs and discussion of current literature. pdf of syllabus available below

Seminar in Evolutionary Biology (Bio 770). Graduate level seminar course. This special seminar course is primarily targeted to new graduate students, with the objectives of them gaining an enhanced understanding of the basic principles and analytic tools in evolutionary biology and developing skills in critical reading of the primary literature, discussion of scientific papers, and formal oral presentation.