Teaching Philosophy

My overall goal with teaching is to teach students how to learn. That is, how to identify and address research questions and how to develop experiments and tests that provide answers and highlight our often limited understanding of ecological processes. Teaching is best when it is based on a two-way dialogue. Lectures should serve as templates for discussion and must inspire students to seek additional information elsewhere. Lectures are used to describe concepts and approaches in research that students can apply in specific projects. I like to challenge students by requesting them to view a research scenario from multiple sides. I expect students to be prepared before class and have questions to the reading material that will be discussed in the lecture. Also, I will never claim to know the answer to all questions. And finally, I prefer an informal atmosphere where the focus is on our common appreciation for natures wonders and in particular for the ecological roles of insects in both natural and man-made ecosystems.