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Faculty Interviews |
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Interview with Gerardo Chin-Leo
Recent Teaching History Recent and Current Areas of Interest My major long term interest is in aquatic (both marine and
freshwater) microbiology, the study of bacteria and phytoplankton.
I am particularly interested in their role in trophic dynamics,
who eats what, and in a more quantitative way their role in
carbon flows within the carbon cycle. I am interested in questions
about the abundance, speciation, and growth of aquatic micro
organisms as they vary with habitat, seasonal patterns, and
other factors. Finally, at the local level, I am interested in phytoplankton ecology and its relationship to issues of human health and water quality. I have worked with both the Department of Health and the Department of Ecology on how phytoplankton water quality and the quality of shellfish. Are there particular authors/artists/thinkers whose work you interested and which you often ask students to examine? Well, I am not so concerned with particular thinkers, but
in the sciences I believe it is very important for students
to become familiar with the primary literature that supports
particular lines of research. Thus students who work with
me tend to read pretty extensively in the area of marine research.
I consider it crucial for students to know how to use the
primary research literature. They need to know how knowledge
is generated, not simply what the "facts" are. Are there specific areas of interest or issues you want to work with students on in the current year? I am really interested in having students do research in
the local estuaries on phytoplankton biology and ecology. I
want them to work at studying such topics as taxonomy, distribution,
abundance, and growth, and also start to think about the policy
implications of their findings. Specific Skills, Competence, Techniques:What are key qualities you look for in student work? The first thing is quantitative skills. In particular I think
it is important for students to learn, and for me to support,
learning in statistics, algebra, and the scientific use of
computers. I see the use of quantitative ideas and data as
a significant part of doing good scientific work and try to
support students in developing the skills necessary to do
that work. The first two skills support a broader process of doing good research. I support this work in a number of ways. First I am interested in teaching good scientific library research skills so that students will be able to really see the roots of the issues they are investigating. Second I work on research design. I want students to develop a systematic approach, to develop a reasonable time line, and a plan for examining their results. I am particularly interested in helping students with field research, where accounting for and finding ways to minimize the number of extraneous variables is crucial. Finally, I are very concerned to support technical scientific writing. I am emphasize clarity and documentation. What are key qualities you look for and techniques do you use to assess and help students assess their work? The crucial issue for me is how well do the students understand
the material. I tend to do a careful reading looking for logical
expression, the effective and accurate use of language, especially
technical language, and overall organization. I find that
students sometimes don't pay much attention to the "truth"
or logicalness of an assertion which is important to them.
I try to push students through careful editing or sitting
down and talking with them to really work on making their
statements logical and then finding effective ways to bring
in supporting evidence. Teaching Style:How would you characterize yourself as a teacher? I am well organized in terms of my goals, and expectations
of students. I work hard to make sure that the activities
I have students engage in work well together and integrate.
I work hard on my own presentations, especially lectures to
make sure they are clear. I try to simplify technical information
by using analogy and humor. And as there always is a broad
range of background and abilities in the classes, I try to
be sensitive to feedback and adjust my presentation to the
particular set of students I am working with. I see myself as approachable and am happy to talk with and offer support to students. What types of students tend to do well with you? I don't necessarily expect expertise in the field, although
when I do more advanced work I try to be explicit about prerequisites
and expectations so a student can self select early before
he is committed to work that is over his head. I like motivated,
hard working students. I like students to ask questions, to
clarify their understandings, and to engage with both me and
the material. I am willing to support learning around "deficiencies"
eg. mathematics, for students who are having a hard time with
particular issues. What types of students have a hard time with you? Well, the opposite. I don't really care how prepared or bright
a student is if they are not interested in the subject and
willing to work hard, attend regularly, and participate fully,
they don't do well with me. In part because I tend to incorporate
a lot of my own, not just textbook, information into whatever
I do and when students miss class they miss much of what I
teach. What do your student evaluations say about the way you come across to students? They like my sense of humor, the clarity of my presentations. Students say I am fair in my expectations and evaluations of their work. They often say that I am knowledgeable in my field and that I can communicate clearly about that expertise. Sometimes I get criticized for trying to do too much too fast. Some students end up feeling a bit overwhelmed. Expectations about Contracts, Internships, and Evaluations
I see contracts as an opportunity to do advanced work, to
apply the information which students have been learning in
previous quarters. Thus the first thing I look for is a specific
question they want to address and how it fits into their overall
academic plan. I look for a plan for how the student will
work on the question, the kind of time line they have set
up, the kind of credit they hope to acquire, and what they
want from me. Sometimes I ask a student to imagine the evaluation
they hope I will be able to write at the end of the quarter
as a way to help them think about their contract. With internships
I have less control, but what I look for most critically is
that they student knows what they want academically from the
internship. I want the internship to occur in the context
of academic goals. I find that if students don't have clear
academic goals for the internship they can easily get used
to grunt work by sponsors. I really don't like half-baked
ideas that are proposed simply because the student hasn't
really figured out what they want. What information do you want to see when a person comes to look for a contract? A student should bring a written proposal that includes goals,
questions, timeline. They need to bring evidence of previous
course work they have done and the names of faculty who I
can contact about their work. When writing evaluations what are the key qualities or attributes of student work you access? My major considerations for credit are attendance, participation and completion of work. These are the foundation. Beyond that I look for strengths and weaknesses with respect to the student's understanding of the material. I usually distinguish between a student's qualitative understanding of ideas and their quantitative capacity to use the concepts and materials. The real test of a student's work is their ability to apply the ideas they have learned to particular projects and problems.
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