TEACHING
The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting"
Plutarch
"If a better world is your aim, all must agree: the best should teach"
Lindley J. Stiles
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY
Maintain an inclusive classroom that exposes students to multiple backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, and foster an open exchange of ideas and opinions through respectful discussion to strengthens students' ability to communicate and interact with different people and groups.
Emphasize the importance of interpersonal, relationship-building, and communication skills as loci between scientific and societal concerns; students must be effective communicators and gain real-world experience expressing their interests, opinions, and work via multiple formats and mediums.
Develop students’ critical thinking, systems thinking, and reflexivity with facilitated discussions, experiential learning activities, and real-world case studies.
Help students recognize the scientific and societal relevance of course content via student-centered learning that uses real-world examples to demonstrate the necessity of exploring the human elements of conservation, and that also demonstrate how complex ideas are reflected in everyday situations.
COURSES
Research Design & Methods
Social Science Design and Methods
(NRS 310): Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method designs and methods to study the behavioral and social aspects of natural resources and the environment.
Social Theory
Theories of Environmental Behavior
(NRS 591):Survey of contending theories of human action and social processes from psychology, sociology, behavioral science, political science, and economics.
Human Dimensions
Human Dimensions of Natural Resources (NRS 555): Application of theory and methods from behavioral, social, and policy science to conservation and natural resources management.
Past Courses
Environmental Communications
Communication principles and theories to develop written, verbal, and visual interpersonal skills that enhance students' ability to communicated with diverse audiences in the context of natural resources, conservation, and the environment.
Contemporary Issues
Two-week field immersion course that focuses on salient natural resources management issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, and soil and water conservation (Mississippi Delta to Continental Divide (2018); Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida Keys (2019)).
Natural Resources Policy
Policies and public involvement process, i.e., the purpose of policy, how and why policies are made, who makes them, how they affect lives and resources. Students learn how to be active citizens and engage in participatory democracy to benefit of natural resources.