Why I teach and how I do it
Dissecting cover crop mixtures during a Principles of Weed Management field trip (photo: Melanie Allen)
My goal as a teacher is to foster deep, lasting learning. To this end, I aim to help students gain a fundamental understanding of core concepts, apply their new knowledge to challenging real-world problems, and engage with societal issues they care about.
To show you what I mean, let me take you inside my Fall 2014 Plant Ecology classroom. Facing the complex and controversial topic of climate change, I used a pre-class online survey to draw out students’ existing attitudes and knowledge. We worked through the class responses together, building up our understanding from the basic processes of climate change to specific effects on forest ecosystems, crop plants, and invasive weeds. Finally, we mapped these effects back to the fundamentals of plant ecology, reinforcing core knowledge.
Three days later, we were shivering amidst Christmas trees as a local tree farmer described how climate change is affecting his operation. The students probed the interactions among plants, pests, landscape, and temperature, and we jointly brainstormed potential adaptation strategies. It was clear that confronting the real-world management challenges on this farm caused the students to engage more deeply with the class concepts.
To show you what I mean, let me take you inside my Fall 2014 Plant Ecology classroom. Facing the complex and controversial topic of climate change, I used a pre-class online survey to draw out students’ existing attitudes and knowledge. We worked through the class responses together, building up our understanding from the basic processes of climate change to specific effects on forest ecosystems, crop plants, and invasive weeds. Finally, we mapped these effects back to the fundamentals of plant ecology, reinforcing core knowledge.
Three days later, we were shivering amidst Christmas trees as a local tree farmer described how climate change is affecting his operation. The students probed the interactions among plants, pests, landscape, and temperature, and we jointly brainstormed potential adaptation strategies. It was clear that confronting the real-world management challenges on this farm caused the students to engage more deeply with the class concepts.
"Mitch’s teaching really challenged my abilities to think outside the box and relate concepts to my real-world encounters, making his plant ecology class one of my favorites and most memorable that I’ve taken at Penn State.” |
Linking classroom and experiential learning in this way is an essential part of my approach to teaching. Having inherited this course in a lecture-based, rote memorization format, I worked with my co-instructor to transform it to include weekly field labs and a semester-long group project. The labs introduced students to fundamental concepts and field sampling methods, while the project promoted engagement and problem solving. Small groups of students defined a plant ecology question, researched it in the literature, collected basic data in the field, and presented their findings both in writing and verbally. This project challenged students to assimilate their new knowledge and apply it to issues that mattered to them. As I mentored the project groups, I saw the students' understanding deepen and their eyes open to new frontiers of their own potential.
Outcomes like these inspire me to continue improving my teaching, working with students to tackle difficult subjects and come to new understandings together. I look forward to more opportunities for teaching in an interactive, engaged, and collaborative classroom. |
Teaching Experience
Lead Instructor, Principles of Weed Management, Penn State University (2016)
Co-Instructor, Plant Ecology, Penn State University (2014)
Teaching Assistant, Principles of Crop Management, Penn State University (2017)
Teaching Assistant, Plant Ecology, Penn State University (2013)
Guest Presenter, Principles of Weed Management, Penn State University (2013)
Co-Instructor, Plant Ecology, Penn State University (2014)
Teaching Assistant, Principles of Crop Management, Penn State University (2017)
Teaching Assistant, Plant Ecology, Penn State University (2013)
Guest Presenter, Principles of Weed Management, Penn State University (2013)
Pedagogical Training
Graduate School Teaching Certificate, Penn State University (2017)
Course in College Teaching, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State University (2015)
New Instructor Orientation, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State University (2014)
Course in College Teaching, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State University (2015)
New Instructor Orientation, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State University (2014)
(photo: Melanie Allen)
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