Whether in the classroom with students or in workshops with NGO and government staff, I emphasize three skills needed to understand the complexity of the relationship between humans and their environment. These skills are the ability to: 1) integrate knowledge and information from a variety of perspectives; 2) use a systems approach to perceive connections and interactions among issues; and 3) solve problems by putting theory into practice.
I use teaching strategies that build on students’ own experiences and engage them in active learning strategies, such as role-playing, decision cases, and hands-on learning. Active learning requires students to engage in and critically analyze course material in a variety of ways, accommodates a diversity of learning styles, and fosters healthy relationships among students.
Workshops
Spring 2012: Instructor, Indian Institute of Science: Workshop “Research methods for human dimensions of conservation” as part of Fulbright Senior Specialist program.
Courses
Spring 2021: Instructor, University of Wisconsin-Madison: "Community Conservation"
Fall 2017: Instructor, Future Generations Graduate School: On-line course "EC 606 Strategies for Conservation."
Fall 2013: Instructor, Future Generations Graduate School: On-line course “Global conservation trends and policies” with practicum in Namibia.
2007-2012: Instructor, University of Wisconsin: “Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in Southwest China.”
Summer 2009: Co-instructor, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore: “Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conservation,” a course for M.Sc. students in Wildlife Biology and Conservation, in collaboration with The Land Tenure Center, UW-Madison
Summer 2005: Co-instructor, Flathead Biological Station, University of Montana: “Conservation Ecology.”
Winter 1999: Instructor/Facilitator, University of Minnesota: “Course development seminar: Epistemologies/methodologies in human-environment relationships.”
Winter 1999: Co-instructor, University of Minnesota: Upper division seminar for honors students and graduate students in the College of Natural Resources. Seminar focused on problems and issues related to managing natural resources. Co-taught with Dr. Dorothy Anderson.
Fall 1998: Instructor, University of Minnesota: "Conservation biology." Required first-year graduate seminar in the Conservation Biology Program.