CHRISTOPHER R. DOLANC 

My teaching philosophy is grounded in making the classroom (indoors or outdoors) open and interactive. I place great importance on class discussion and group projects. I believe this kind of environment not only enhances learning but addresses classroom diversity by broadening student perspectives.

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I like to stop and ask questions during lecture and have students tell me why they think things work the way they do. I think it is more important to continue an important line of questions about key concepts than to hit every point scheduled for lecture that day. We also do a lot of drawing in my classes - conceptual diagrams, graphs, forests, plants, leaf cross-sections, etc. 

 

I place great importance on field-based learning and try to get students outside even for courses such as general biology. Field settings offer visual and tactile aids that classrooms cannot and build lasting friendships.

 

Because students have a diversity of strengths and weaknesses, I use a diversity of evaluation techniques, including group projects, papers, presentations and participation in discussion. I also try to include different types of questions on exams - short-answer, essay, multiple-choice, matching, and labeling/drawing.

 

Interests

I have broad interests in both ecology and botany (plant biology), and am interested in teaching any course related to those topics, particularly general botany, general ecology, plant community ecology, population ecology, field botany or ecology, forest ecology, plant taxonomy, plant physiology, conservation ecology, environmental science, and dendrology. I also enjoy teaching general biology and other courses that keep me thinking broadly.

 

Experience

Fall 2014-present - Assistant Professor of Biology (Mercyhurst University)

Spring 2014 - Adjunct Instructor, General Biology (Folsom Lake College)

2008-2010 - Guest Lecturer, Plant Communities of California (UC-Davis)

2005-2008 - Teaching Assistant, General Plant Biology (UC-Davis)

Fall 2006 - Teaching Assistant, Trees and Forests (UC-Davis)

2007-2010 - Teaching Assistant, Plant Communities of California (UC-Davis)

2001-2002 - Instructor, General Botany (Miami University - Hamilton)

Summer 2002 - Instructor, Field Botany (Miami U. - Hamilton and Middletown)

Summer 2001 - Instructor, General Botany (Miami University)

1999-2002 - Teaching Assistant, Plants, Humanity & the Environment (Miami U)

 

I have mentored several students during my dissertation research and as a researcher for the US Forest Service. I love this kind of interaction and am excited to continue mentoring undergraduates.