Teaching philosophy
Over the course of the past nine years as an assistant and now associate professor it would be fair to say that I have learned as much, if not more, than I have taught. The evolution of my journey as a professor has been driven almost completely by my interactions with students, both undergraduate and graduate. Every semester offers new insight into best practices in disseminating information, teaching students to apply course information, and how to help students meet the learning objectives I establish. It is my job to make sure all students have what they need to meet established learning goals and objectives, and perhaps even have some fun on their way. My main objectives in teaching are to: 1) integrate students’ current understanding of ecological concepts with new, up to date knowledge of the field, 2) engage students in their intellectual transition to independent thinkers and doers through inventive applied and experiential learning opportunities, and 3) encourage students to apply biological/ecological concepts outside of the classroom to blur the line between classroom learning and daily life.
Ecology students using quadrat sampling to determine dispersion patterns of dandelions in the field.
A favorite project of Ecology students is EcoPhoto. Each semester, students are tasked with capturing ecological concepts in their communities. Students submit photos into a shared folder and exchange ideas on the ecological concepts displayed. Click here to view one of our semester's worth of ecology in action!
"Gallery walks" are a great way to have students display their understanding of a variety of concepts. I often use it at the beginning of a course to understand their base knowledge or as a tool to review for exams.
Courses I currently offer:
For full degree (BS Zoology) and course information, click here.
Diversity of Animals
(ZOOL 2220)
Offered each semester, this four credit, lower division course (lecture/lab combined) is the second course in our series of required courses for Zoology majors. Diversity of Animals provides an overview of the diversity and biology of the nine major phyla of invertebrate and vertebrate animals.
Ecology
(ZOOL 3450 CRE)
Ecology is a required, upper division course for Zoology majors, involving three hours of lecture and three hours of lab each week. In this course, we work through the ecological hierarchy from individual/organismal ecology to population and community ecology, ending with landscape and ecosystem ecology, incorporating human impacts and the effects of climate change into each section. The CRE (Course-based Research Experience) designation for this course means that students spend a significant portion of the semester on a scientific research project, culminating in scientific manuscripts. Students typically work as a group to submit a single paper to Ergo, the undergraduate research journal at WSU, and/or present our findings as a poster at the WSU Research and Engagement Symposium. Past projects include: "Effects of detritivores on leaf litter biomass and soil nutrients", "Effects of baiting on image capture rate and species richness documented using trail cameras at Weber State University" (Ergo vol. 15 & 16, pgs 147-153), and "Temperature differences inside and outside of black-capped chickadee nestboxes".
Toxicology (ZOOL 3930)
This course serves to introduce students to the basic principles of toxicology, describe common and emerging pollutants of concern, and describe the biological effects of pollutants at the cellular, individual, population, and community levels of organization. Toxicology is a three credit elective course for Zoology majors or other students who have completed ZOOL2220.
Marine ecology (ZOOL 4490)
Marine ecology is a four credit upper division elective course with three hours of lecture and three hours of lab each week. This course introduces students to basic oceanographic concepts, the adaptations marine organisms have to their environment, the main marine fauna (from plankton to marine mammals), surveys major marine habitats, while addressing current issues in ocean health, in particular, human impacts on the sea along the way. Though land-locked, students get to experience marine life by visiting the Loveland Living Aquarium each semester. Most semesters students work as a class to complete an experiment that is written up as a scientific manuscript and submitted to Ergo and/or presented at the WSU Research and Engagement Symposium. Past projects include: "Investigating the effects of ocean acidification on adult oyster (Crassostrea virginica) shells" (Ergo, vol. 14, pgs 19-28) and "Mercury concentrations in commonly consumed canned seafood products".
Ecology field trip to the Great Salt Lake at Antelope Island State Park
Marine ecology students preparing oyster shells for our class experiment simulating ocean acidification and its effects on oyster shell mass.
Group photo from Spring 2023, in which Dr. Meyer's Animal Locomotion class joined us at the aquarium.
Seminar is a required course for all Zoology majors; however, the topic varies by semester depending on the professor teaching the course. In the past, I have taught Seminar on the following topics: Ecological History of North America and Ecology of Climate Change.
Seminar (ZOOL 4990)
Students in Ecological History of North America (Seminar) read The Eternal Frontier by Tim Flannery and created an ecological timeline highlighting what they determined to be the most important events in the early history of North America.
Marine ecology students have to complete an "ecological concept" scavenger hunt during our trip to the aquarium. Students are given a list of marine ecology concepts covered in class and they have to find exhibits/animals that display those concepts and take a photo.