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PiBBs Collaborative Interdisciplinary Teaching

Designed to provide advanced level Ph.D. students with a background in inquiry-based interdisciplinary biological science curriculum and pedagogy. The approach is a problem based one: two or three advanced Ph.D. students from different departments propose, develop, and teach a 400-500 level course from the ground up. The students work closely under supervision of faculty mentor(s) to develop a syllabus, define the content and scope of the course, learn teaching methodologies and do actual instruction. Teaching truly interdisciplinary classes entails special problems. Because these areas are emerging, textbooks are non-existent and devising an appropriate syllabus can be challenging. In addition, undergraduate students, drawn from a variety of educational backgrounds, have varying levels of background skills and knowledge. Thus, a major emphasis is on effective communication. Trainees develop and incorporate a variety of teaching skills that they will need to become effective faculty teachers, including inquiry strategies, investigative laboratory, data analysis, and computer experiences, and problem-based methodologies. The graduate student instructors meet weekly with the faculty mentor to go over designed educational readings, instructional technology, and assessment techniques. (Fall or Spring, 3 credits)

Fall 2007: Perspectives in Human Ecology

Taught as Anthropology 450/550-031, Biology 402/502-031; 3 credits
FALL 2007
T & R 9:30am - 10:45am
Castetter 258
Oskar Burger (Anthro) , William Burnside(Bio) & Jordan Okie(Bio)

Syllabus (.pdf) (.doc) updated reading list available on class website
Class website/blogspot: human-macroecology.blogspot.com/
Email: humanmacroecology@gmail.com

This course is intended to give graduate students and senior-level undergraduates a deep understanding of large scale patterns and processes in human ecology. Students will view human ecology from the complementary perspectives of biogeography and macroecology, showing patterns across space and time, and system dynamics, focusing on ways energy, materials, and information are processed and transformed in social systems. The ways in which humans follow and alter broad-scale ecological patterns in time and space will be explored and potential explanations for these patterns will be examined. Participants will get a broad introduction to the associated literature as well as practice interpreting actual datasets through a research project. They will leave with a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary understanding of human ecology and with the intellectual tools to contribute to this blossoming field.

Course overview:

• Focus on large-scale patterns and processes in human ecology
• Interdisciplinary perspectives from
  1. biogeography and macroecology: showing patterns across space and time
  2. system dynamics, focusing on ways energy, materials, and information are processed and transformed in social systems
• Broad introduction to associated literature and practice interpreting actual datasets through a research project