Wendy Rothwell–Teaching Statement 2001-02
Lecturer in Biological Sciences

Nothing is as exhilarating as the roar of active minds in the classroom. I love it! All of us working together toward a common goal, delving into the fascinating world of the mechanisms that drive living things. I am indeed very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the students in this exciting field as they move closer and closer to achieving their goals in the biological sciences.

In my experience as a teacher I have had the great pleasure of leading both laboratory and large lecture courses. The Experimental Biology Laboratory course (Biology 20L) is a required, lower division course with a maximum enrollment of 20 students per laboratory section. Because of the low enrollment, I have the opportunity to work with the students on an individual basis as they perform their experiments. This allows me to work with and teach each student in a way that is most effective for that individual. Doing this is a great challenge and is really fun.

The students also seem to enjoy this class and they learn a great deal about the experimental process and the analysis and presentation of data. I evaluate the students based on their performance in the lab and on reports they prepare for each experiment. Some of these reports are written in the format of scientific research articles. These reports are especially important because they offer the students an introduction into how scientists communicate their findings as well as teach the students how to conduct library searches; the students must include peer-reviewed references in their reports. Other reports are more brief and include figures and/or tables showing their data and a discussion of what the data mean.

A major part of teaching Biology 20L is the grading. I feel strongly that grading is an important part of teaching and should be taken very seriously, especially where it concerns the evaluation of written reports. Students can learn a great deal from the comments given concerning different aspects of their work. Because of this, I make a point of being very thorough in my grading and write clear, often extensive comments concerning many aspects of their reports including mathematical calculation, writing style and grammar, presentation of data, and data analysis. I am especially thorough in my grading of the mock research articles (full reports) the students prepare. In grading these papers I comment on them as I would a paper being prepared for publication. Although I grade these papers harshly, the students are given the option to rewrite their first full report for an improved score. In this rewrite I require that all comments be addressed. Although this involves extra work on their part, the vast majority of the students take advantage of the opportunity. Many students have told me that rewriting the report was very informative and well worth the effort. That they learn from this process is apparent in the marked improvement in their subsequent papers.

Teaching large lecture courses (>100 students) involves a different set of challenges than those presented in the laboratory course. In both of the lecture courses I teach, Biochemistry (Biology 100) and Cell Biology (Biology 110), I prepare lectures that are quite dense and that often involve detailed descriptions of complex pathways. Therefore, in order for the students to get the best education with the least frustration, it is imperative that these lectures be well organized and clear. To achieve this I use an outline format for every lecture and often start the lecture off with a brief overview of the subject to be covered. I have found that using an outline format helps students to better understand the material and its applications because it keeps them focused on the big picture while learning the details pertaining to each subject. Starting the lecture with an overview (usually no more than 5 minutes) helps to bring the students up to speed with regard to the subjects covered in each lecture without spending too much time on material they have learned in other classes.

It is also important that lectures be up-to-date. This is especially true for the more advanced courses such as Cell Biology, where the intensive amount of research performed in certain areas often renders figures in the textbook obsolete. In order to ensure that the information I present is current, I review the literature prior to each lecture and note where the text shows an obsolete model for a given pathway. To avoid confusion, I make a list of "errors in the text" available to the students on electronic reserves and/or prepare handouts showing the updated version of the model.

I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to teach these lecture courses. It is a great pleasure to share information I am so interested in with people who are often just as excited about the material as I am. Teaching these courses also provides me with a valuable enhancement to my own education. I am always learning. I learn as I stay current in the different subject areas and I get to explore interesting applications of the material that I later incorporate into the lectures and/or exams. The students also teach me through their interesting comments and questions, discussions we have outside of class and the research papers they write.

In addition to my work in the classroom, I very much enjoy working with the students as they map out their future plans for their scientific careers. Oftentimes, students will meet with me to discuss career choices in the sciences and to obtain information on research opportunities available for undergraduates at UCSC and elsewhere in the area. These discussions are very exciting and both the students and I learn a great deal. Because students know that I enjoy talking with them about their careers, they often drop by to tell me about the career path they have chosen and opportunities they have encountered along the way. I then get the pleasure of passing this valuable information along to others. Because many of my students stay in touch with me after graduation, it is often possible for me to put one student inquiring about a career path in touch with another who has taken that path. For instance, I recently introduced a student who is considering combining his biology background with a law degree to another, previous biology student who is currently attending Santa Clara Law School. I'm sure they will benefit from each others' input. I also try to keep aware of positions available for undergraduates in laboratories here on campus and I emphasize to students the importance of having research/internship experience if they are considering graduate school or other professional schools where this experience is important for acceptance. Being involved in the students' transition into their professional careers is very exciting for me. I get to be involved in this transition in many ways including the discussions mentioned above and sponsoring students in independent study. I have also written a large number of recommendation letters.

Being a teacher is a great responsibility and a true pleasure. I want to thank the students who nominated me for the Excellence in Teaching Award. I am deeply honored. Thanks to all of my students for your hard work and smiles. Your enthusiasm inspires me.