Teaching

I teach three graduate courses and one undergraduate course.

Graduate courses

FW 730 – Ethics in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, 2-credits, every Fall semester

Professional ethics are about scientific integrity and responsible conduct of research, which requires that scientists be aware of the ethical dimensions of their work, desire to make the right decisions, and know how to address issues that arise. By actively participating in this course, students should become able to: (1) see and articulate ethical issues, (2) understand consequences of unethical practices, (3) be better able to solve ethical dilemmas in research and natural resource management, (4) confront the possibility of needing to act against their own self interest in order to avoid or solve a moral problem, and (5) develop leadership skills in the area of ethical conduct of research.

PSC/GOH 550 – Fundamentals of Citizen Science & Other Participatory Research methods, 3-credits, every Fall semester

Citizen science, through collective action, can produce discoveries that scientists cannot make alone. Students will become familiar with literature across disciplines about citizen science and other forms of participatory research such as community mapping, volunteer monitoring, crowdsourcing, participatory sensing, and community-driven science. Students will critically examine ethical, legal, and emergent issues, and analyze theory and practice with particularly attention to data quality, informal science learning, and democratization of science in society.

The objectives are for students to:

1. Recognize varied approaches to participatory sciences. Students will become familiar with differences among the participatory sciences. Students will be able to reference key literature about different styles, designs, names, and goals of participatory sciences.

2. Critique citizen science and other participatory sciences. Students will be able to explain the strengths and weaknesses of different designs, including fluency with ethical, legal, social, and JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) considerations of participatory sciences in real-world situations.

3. Appreciate varied expertise that multiple disciplines bring to citizen science and other participatory sciences. Students will gain exposure to the disciplines involved in advancing participatory sciences, including the fields of social science, education, critical geography, science and technology studies, science communication, ecology, public health, volunteer management, and more.

PSC 551 – Participatory Science in Practice, 1-credit, every Spring semester

Students will be organized to work as a group to prepare, carry out, report-back, and assess a citizen science event in collaboration with NC State Libraries.

Undergraduate courses

ES 295/FW 295 Citizen Science, 1 credit, every Spring semester

Students in this course will sort thousands of participatory science projects, demonstrate use of projects’ field techniques, and evaluate use of projects’ data for scientific research, policy development, legal compliance, resource management, and community action. Students will gain hands-on experience in project management by assisting a team of graduate students in organizing, implementing, analyzing, or assessing a citizen science event. With NC State Libraries as a partner in shaping the theme for an annual event to engage the student body, students work in teams to facilitate engagement in a focal citizen science project. The annual events will help NC State become a data-rich campus.