Teaching
New Master's Program in Biology at Uni Graz!
Website for program: <link>
Course list: <link>
Slides describing Ecology & Biodiversity Specialisation: <link>
Current Course Offerings (Aktuelle Kursangebote):
Wintersemester:
BIO.309, "Biostatistik" <prüfung_html> <datei> <antwortenblatt_2023>
PLA.109UB, "Scaling Biodiversity"
LV 649.876: Bayesian Statistics and Hierarchical Modelling <link>
Sommersemester:
649.500: Folgen des Klimawandels im Gebirge
BUI.01615UB: Freilanddidaktik
BUC.05401UB: Lebensweise heimischer Pilze und Pflanzen
649.210: Modul Fernerkundung und GIS: Einführung
BIO.910: Vegetation Ecology
Sommer- und Wintersemester:
PLA.120UB: Projektlabor Biodiversität
649.870: Design, Analyse und Diskussion wissenschaftlicher Forschung
Link to Uni Graz teaching site: <link>
General Information:
I currently teach in the Division of Plant Sciences, at the University of Graz's Institute of Biology, including classes in ecology, statistics, dynamical systems models, and botany. In the past, I have taught in a variety of settings, including short courses on field and analysis methods at the Cedar Creek LTER and iDiv, and through more formal classes at the University of Minnesota and University of California, Santa Barbara.
I'm particularly interested in ecological methods courses for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. I think that a strong understanding of modern analysis methods is essential to doing good ecology today, and I'm always looking for more effective teaching methods to include in my courses. If you have suggestions (or complaints!) please email me!
Below, I have posted slides and notes for classes that I have taught or designed, as well as some advice on applying to graduate school, and some notes on my teaching philosophy. If you'd like to add anything to the notes on applying to grad school, please feel free to email me, or to update the information on the Github page.
Teaching Resources:
Free eBook Textbook: Clarence Lehman, Shelby Loberg, and Adam T. Clark. (2019). Quantitative Ecology: A New Unified Approach. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, http://hdl.handle.net/11299/204551. <link> <pdf><review>
Exercises and practice questions for the ebook: <link>
This ebook is arose as a summary of an introductory ecology course taught by Clarence Lehman, Shelby Loberg, and me at the University of Minnesota. It covers principles of ecology ranging from populations to ecosystems, including human populations, disease, exotic organisms, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity, and global dynamics. The book also includes reformulated and unified versions of some of the most commonly used ecological equations to make them more accessible to the reader and easier to teach. Although we make ample use of computer programming in the textbook and practice questions, the book is meant to be approachable for students with no prior background in ecology or programming.
Notes on applying to graduate school:
The Graduate School Cookbook: One way to approach PhD applications in ecology <link> <pdf> <github>
This document is a collection of thoughts on the graduate school application process that I've collected over the years from friends and colleagues. If you have any comments on items to add or change, please let me know, either through email, or through the Github page.
Teaching philosophy statement:
Teaching Portfolio (Summary of Teaching Activities at Uni Graz): <pdf>
Statement of Personal Teaching Philosophy <pdf>
A discussion of how I go about teaching, including a description of some of the methods that I've found to be most effective in getting students to enjoy class and effectively learn course content.
Courses I've Taught at University of Graz:
Summer:
BUI.01615UB, Freilanddidaktik
Lecture: <link>
BUC.05401UB, Lebensweise heimischer Pilze und Pflanzen
Lectures: <link>
649.113, "A (very slow) introduction to scientific programming in R":
Lecture slides: <link>
Course description: <link>
PLA.212UB, Naturraumplanung mit GIS- und RS-Methoden;
Kurs 3: <Folien>
649.500, "Folgen des Klimawandels im Gebirge"
BIO.910, "Vegetation Ecology"
Winter:
PLA.109UB, "Scaling Biodiversity":
Lecture 6: Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Scale: <video> <slides>
Lecture 7: Evolution and Island Systems: <video> <slides>
BIO.309, "Biostatistik"
PLA.107UB, "Grundlagen der Biodiversität der Pflanzen"
Summer and Winter:
PLA.120UB, "Projektlabor Biodiversität"
649.870, "Design, Analyse und Diskussion wissenschaftlicher Forschung"
Other Courses I've Taught:
Fall 2019
Martin-Luther-Universität (Halle) Spatial Ecology Course:
Gause competition data collection sheet: <link>
Gause data figure: <link>
Full Gause data and code: <link>
Gause project resources: <link>
Fall 2018
Martin-Luther-Universität (Halle) Spatial Ecology Course:
Human population over time data: <link>
Human population over time code: <link>
Gause competition data: <link>
Gause competition code: <link>
Spatial competition/colonization model code: <link>
Summer 2018
yDiv/HIGRADE Networks and Coexistence Summer Course:
Workshop: Time Series Analysis for Analyzing Complex and Coupled Dynamics
Lecture slides: <link>
Workshop code scrips: <link>
Summer 2017
Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center Summer School:
Understanding Risks and Resilience in Plant Systems
Workshop: Empirical Dynamic Modeling: Time Series Analysis for
Predicting Future Dynamics and Testing Causal Links
Lecture slides: <link>
Workshop code scrips: <link>
Summer 2016
EEB 3407/5407: Introduction to Ecology (Lab Section)
Intensive field course taught at Cedar Creek LTER (lecture section taught by Dr. Forest Isbell)
Course syllabus <link>
Lab manual <link>
Fall 2013
EEB 8990-002: A (very short) introduction to R programming
Course syllabus <pdf>
Class slides <pdf>
Teaching awards I've won:
Fall 2013
Award for Outstanding Performance as a Teaching Assistant for the College of Biological Sciences. For BIOL 3407 and EEB 8990-002.
Past Courses I've TAed:
Spring 2016
ESM 201: Ecology of Managed Ecosystems
Course syllabus <pdf>
Course notes <zip>
Fall 2015
EEB 5053: Ecology: Theory and Concepts
Course syllabus <pdf>
Notes:
Simple math review sheet: <pdf>
Review for R, Mathematica, and Maxima programming: <pdf>
Notes on Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors: <pdf>
Notes on Taylor Series expansions for stability analysis: <pdf>
Guest Lectures:
Takens Theorem & Schaffer’s Application to Ecology: <pdf>
Takens Theorem & the Sugihara versus Granger Approach to Causality: <pdf>
Spring 2015
ESM 201: Ecology of Managed Systems
Guest Lecture: The Ecology of Humans: Land Clearing, Habitat Destruction, the Extinction Debt <pdf>
Fall 2012 & Fall 2013
BIOL 3407/5407: Introduction to Ecology
