I have a love of teaching that is born from the enjoyment and personal gratification I receive when I help someone be excited about discovering something new in the environment surrounding them. My teaching is supported by my broad scientific and technical expertise and the same interdisciplinary approaches at the foundation of my professional and academic work in environmental regulation/policy and research. My teaching uses empirically-based methods centered on experiential learning (that draw from my recent experiences in applied environmental science as an agency scientist). My lessons link foundational knowledge to contemporary topics in sustainability, management, and restoration. I stress the need for a holistic understanding of ecological and socio-economic concepts (including issues of environmental justice driven by social inequities) for students to translate knowledge into equitable actions in conservation. My classroom instruction is designed to develop comprehension and critical thinking through active learning and other student-centered approaches that avoid unnecessary requirements for memorization. I using computer-based technologies for teaching and constantly work to develop approaches for integrating quantitative concepts in my courses. My teaching utilizes project-based assignments whenever feasible to evaluate comprehension. Below you will find:
- A list of courses I've taught.
- Examples of project-based learning in my GIS and Environmental Science classes.
- Images from a field trip that supported a multi-week experiential learning activity in field ecology.
- Resources I've developed for my courses that I'm happy to share with other educators.
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The following is a list of courses I've taught as the instructor of record:
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GIS posters
Below are examples of the poster projects created in my Introduction to GIS course. It was previously taught as a science elective (with a lab) with dual listing as a major/minor requirement across several science and non-science degree programs at Lycoming College. I center the course around foundational and interdisciplinary topics and skills in environmental and geospatial sciences applicable to just about any field. Posters are presented during a research session to the entire campus. Faculty, students, and administration are invited to see what students have accomplished. Commonly, these student projects supported future research on campus by the students involved.
Campus sustainability posters
Every year for my Environmental Biology course, students are required to propose a campus sustainability project and present the idea through a poster to campus. The projects can be simple or grand, but must be feasible. Faculty, students, and administration are invited. The great thing is that campus facilities and administration view the posters to potentially implement certain ideas (we have started to implement two projects thus far). Previously taught as an introductory course, this is also an opportunity for many students to give their first research poster presentation.
Images from Field experiences in my courses in ecology and environmental science
Teaching resources
Below are teaching resources I've developed, which are free to download and use in your courses. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns about this material.
Teaching logistic population growth and ecological modelling:
Reducing barriers to teaching with R in undergraduate biology
I participated in a Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES), Faculty Mentoring Network (FMN) program to produce a lesson for students to examine population growth using the R statistical environment (using Swirl). The lesson is designed to 1) teach students about the concept of logistic population growth, growth rates, and carrying capacity and 2) provide a basic introduction to ecological modeling and quantitative thinking in ecology. The citation and link to the lesson is:
Smith, R. F. (2019). Teaching logistic population growth and ecological modelling. Reducing Barriers to Teaching with R in Undergraduate Biology, QUBES Educational Resources. doi:10.25334/Q4CF1M
Smith, R. F. (2019). Teaching logistic population growth and ecological modelling. Reducing Barriers to Teaching with R in Undergraduate Biology, QUBES Educational Resources. doi:10.25334/Q4CF1M
RABLE 2019 files (Using MS excel in biology labs)
Files below are those presented for a major workshop at the Regional ABLE (RABLE) Conference, Saturday, October 5, 2019 at Allegany College of Maryland, Cumberland, MD. The title of the workshop was: MS Excel for teaching quantitative concepts in biology: An introduction and case study examining climate data
| rable_2019_materials_v06.1.zip |
Using MS Excel (for ABLE 2018)
Files for this lab are currently not listed here (because I'm using them for remote instruction). Please contact me at [email protected] if you'd like a copy of the complete set of files.
Files now part of the RABLE 2019 section above.
| ABLE_2018_poster.pdf |