Teaching

 

We live on an amazing planet, and I love being able to introduce students to the natural world all around them. I teach a variety of undergrad and graduate level courses for geology majors as well as non-majors who have no previous experience with the earth sciences. Courses include:

Upcoming Courses

Fall 2020

  • IDS 2935 Hazards and Humans (UF Quest 2 course)
    •  Quest 2 courses invite students to address pressing questions facing human society and the planet—questions that outstrip the boundaries of any one discipline and that represent the kind of open-ended, complex issues they will face as critical, creative, and thoughtful adults navigating a complex and interconnected world. In this course, Students will integrate the science of geologic hazards with perspectives from other disciplines including traditional knowledge systems, economics and sociology. The course will be grounded in the physical sciences, particularly focusing on geology. and examine questions such as: How can scientific understanding help us prepare for and minimize the impacts of natural disasters? What are the cultural and historical ties to hazardous landscapes and how do those ties influence decision making during a disaster? How do disasters impact different economic/social populations?How can our actions reduce or exacerbate the impact of a disaster?

Spring 2020

  • GLY2010C Physical Geology
    • Textbook: Physical Geology 2nd edition by Steven Earle. Open Access, download it free of charge: https://opentextbc.ca/geology/
    • Syllabus coming soon.
  • GLY1880 Earthquakes, Volcanoes and other Hazards
    • Textbook: “Natural Disasters” 11th edition by Patrick L. Abbott.
    • Syllabus coming soon.
  • GLY1102 Age of Dinosaurs (online)
    • Texbook: Dinosaurs, The Textbook 6th Edition, by Spencer Lucas.
    • Syllabus coming soon.

Fall 2019

  • GLY4930/6932 Economic Geology. 3 Credit hours.
    • Textbook: none
    • Description: The purpose of this course is to explore a variety of potential geoscience careers in industry and build geoscience career related skills with industry professionals serving as guest instructors. Topics will include resource development, extraction, environmental remediation and business practices in Florida. Field trips and guided activities in class will provide ample opportunity to learn from real-world examples.
  • GLY2030C Environmental and Engineering Geology. Online, 3 credit hours.
    • Textbook: Environmental Geology, 9th Edition, Keller.
    • The focus of this course is investigating human interactions with the natural world – how the environment impacts us, and how we impact our environment. To accomplish this, we will establish foundational knowledge about geology and the scientific process. We will then apply that knowledge to understand the processes that shape the Earth’s surface and natural systems. From this context we can also examine the complex relationship between humans and their environment.