Melissa J Dowd Senior Lecturer, Biology |
Education
Teaching Interests
I currently teach a mix of courses, some that contribute to the biology major, some that contribute to the first year experience via the First Year Seminar and some that are geared toward students who are not majoring in biology. My goal is to instill a love and respect for science whether a student has chosen to pursue a degree in a science field or not.
For those students who are majoring in biology, I want them to truly appreciate all the discipline has to offer and understand and value the relationship between various fields. I want them to see how and why the content we teach and the knowledge they acquire, can be used to impact the world around them.
For those students who are not majoring in biology, I want to remove some of the intimidation many seem to feel when it comes to science courses. I want these students to better understand the process of scientific thinking and the scientific method. I do this through real-life problems that allow them to explore and better articulate the impact of biology and technology on the global society.