I actually have a bit of a unique experience with my undergraduate university that may make some of you feel mildly better about this whole situation. I just recently graduated, and when I started at my university, the department I was under was classified solely as Molecular and Cellular Biology (I thought it was what I wanted to do when I started college. I was very wrong), and there was nothing close to an ecology class, much less a field course being offered, even in the intro biology classes. Since then, my university has started a field ecology class that goes over the basics of ecology, involves a final field research project as the primary grade, and has 4 Saturday field trips to areas relatively close to the university (with travel provided for the whole class by using a local school bus) where the students get to learn basic field methods (including collecting and identifying plants and insects). As an even better note, this class has maxed out its number of students in every semester it's been offered since it started. In addition, the department as a whole has renamed itself simply the Department of Biology in hopes of expanding the scope of the program outside of just the molecular and cellular scale in the future. This may be a completely and totally isolated instance, but I definitely think it shows that a resurgence in field courses is completely possible as long as professors are interested in providing a course that is accessible to students.
Mitchell Owens University of Texas at Dallas On Sat, May 17, 2014 at 8:39 PM, Jordan Mayor <jma...@ufl.edu> wrote: > Hi Ling, > > I think the onset of this discussion began with it being pointed out that > many Biology Dept.’s have gone “molecular” or even “nano” and this > financial refocusing, perhaps combined with increasing enrollment straining > class sizes, has resulted in a reduced number of field courses being > offered. > > I have experienced this while a T.A. at a major R1 US university. The > field-trip-oriented General Ecology course was under constant pressure to > eradicate field trips so more than 14 students (the maximum # of students > that could fit on the dept.’s buses) could enroll in a lab section (thus > removing a T.A.-ship for one ill-fated grad student). This was thankfully > avoided — much to the benefit of the students, many of whom have never > experienced an ecological perspective on the many unique ecosystems FL has > to offer (hint: it’s not just mangrove and slash pine). > > When I was an undergrad I also had direct experience in hitting a “pay > wall” while trying to increase my field biology experience. OTS and The > School for Field Studies both offered excellent programs that very much > piqued my interest but were quashed by my financial reality (loans and > part-time jobs). In the end I very much enjoyed field trips and eventually > found paid summer field experience chasing birds around on an undergraduate > professor’s research grant. > > I think another big issue, besides the reduction in field trips in Ecology > courses, is the general loss of taxonomist positions at universities. > Taxonomy courses (plant tax, mycology, entomology, etc.) often require > direct observation or even personal collection of organisms in their > environment. Such taxonomy courses may offer the sort of field experience > that will energize young field biologists — not to mention make them better > ecologists ;) > > So please. If you are in a position to either fight to retain field > courses or offer one yourself please do. And make it one to remember. > > > > -- > Jordan Mayor, PhD > Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU > Forest Ecology & Management > jordanmayor.com > > On May 17, 2014, at 3:00 PM, ling huang <ling.hu...@prodigy.net> wrote: > > > Some thoughts and questions: > > > > I'm not sure if it has clearl > > Hi all > > > > Some thoughts and questions: > > > > I'm not sure if it has clearly been mentioned but what are the reasons > for the loss of field courses? > > Is it a recent phenomenon? Is it area / state/country specific? Are > there reasons given? Has there been a large reduction in the numbers of > field courses offered? or is it part of a reduction due to shortage of > interest, shortage of student enrollment, insurance, financial etc. ? (I'm > grabbing at straws)? > > > > In my previous email I did list some courses, programs offered that > looked very interesting and thorough in their field component (incl. at my > own school). > > > > All interesting stuff. > > > > Ling > > Ling Huang > > Sacramento City College > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: Malcolm McCallum <malcolm.mccallum.ta...@gmail.com> > > To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU > > Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2014 11:11 AM > > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Loss of field courses, continued > > > > > > For perspective...This is what financially disadvantaged students deal > with.. > > > > Every single decision made is based on whether or not you will have to > > pay for it above and beyond the cost of attendance. The class has an > > optional field trip to a place 10 mi away? I don't have a car, how > > will I get there? Sometimes you can go with other students, but often > > you can't because the seats are taken. there is an optional class to > > be taken on the other side of the city/county/state/planet...its not > > happening. > > > > I came into undergrad broke. > > The dorms fed you M-F, then Sat you got two meals, and Sunday you got > one. > > That is what I ate my first year in college because all of my money > > went to school. The rules were all freshman and sophomores that lived > > outside of a certain distance form ISU had to live in the dorms > > (unless married). > > > > Each summer, I would work multiple jobs so I had enough to pay for > > books and possibly some other expenses. The summer after my freshman > > year I worked night shift at the truck stop as a janitor 40+ hrs a > > week, then turned around and worked in the kitchen washing dishes and > > cleaning vats at the hospital. Between these two I made enough at > > $4.00/hr to pay for most of my expenses. This gave me just enough > > money I could afford to go to the movies once a week and eat on the > > weekends after also working 20-30 hours a week at school. The end of > > Sophomore year I was an undergrad research assistant for 5 hrs a week > > and worked at burger king for $3.35/hr. Most of that went into > > school. > > > > Junior year I started working in the night manager program (night > > shift) 30 hr/wk. I did this through my senior year. It paid > > substantially more and financial aid benefits had grown a lot by that > > time. However, my father lost his job after 22 years and so I was > > sending money home. Even though I was now making more. That > > continued on midway through my MS. > > > > Then, when you graduate with a PHD, you don't have the option of > > declining a bad job, because you have a student loan heap on your head > > that must be paid, forget feeding yourself or your children. > > > > It sounds like no big deal to go off campus to take necessary courses > > the school doesn't offer. But if you are financially disadvantaged, > > its not an option. And, that financial disadvantage continues to haunt > > you all the way through until after you graduate with a PHD because > > you have to take care of all those student loans, and deal with the > > missed opportunities that result because you could not afford to take > > advantage of them. > > > > It actually angers me quite a bit when people use the old, "well you > > can just..." No you can't if you are living from dime to dime, day to > > day. > > > > Malcolm > > > > > > On Sat, May 17, 2014 at 12:23 PM, <mcnee...@cox.net> wrote: > >> Absolutely true, Malcolm and others. Sure, OTS is an important > organization that provides access to tropical field locations for those > students who can afford it. But when I was an undergrad, I had to work at > a job year round, and go to school near home. I did not have money for > travel to foreign countries, I had to spend my money to eat, have a roof > over my head, have clothing to wear, and pay school expenses. > >> > >> I have been a faculty member in institutions that served primarily poor > and mostly first generation students. Though they generally had more > financial support than was typical 50 years ago, they still struggled > financially. Some were single parents, trying to get a leg up in school. > Try telling the OTS adviser that you'll be bringing your three year old > with you. > >> > >> No field courses at the institution? Then for them, no field courses. > Even making the field trips in country can be a struggle for some poor > students, when the institution specifies that students pay their own travel > expenses. Getting their head, and their wallet, around travel to Brazil > may just be beyond them. > >> > >> But I made it a point to provide meaningful field biology experiences > within my department, and close to home. And a major reason that is going > away in so many institutions is that field biology is going away. It > needn't. > >> > >> David McNeely > >> > >> ---- Malcolm McCallum <malcolm.mccallum.ta...@gmail.com> wrote: > >>> When students must travel half-way around the world to get this kind > >>> of experience, you can be assured that their will be a significant > >>> disadvantage for those who are financially disadvantaged. My attitude > >>> as an undergraduate would have been (and was) if this was really > >>> important, the school would have it on campus for everyone to take. > >>> > >>> Boy, I've learned how wrong I was about how schools often select what > >>> they offer. > >>> > >>> On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 10:41 PM, Kimberly G. Smith <kgsm...@uark.edu> > wrote: > >>>> I am following this thread with some amusement... I am in Belize with > 20 undergraduates on a natural history course... next week, 45 students > from University of Arkansas will travel to Dangriga Belize for your 7th > summer of service/learning for 3 weeks.... > >>>> > >>>> As others have mentioned, if you feel seriously about field > experiences, it is up to you to provide those experiences for your > students... I find it is very rewarding and a life changing experience for > many students.... > >>>> > >>>> Saludos, Kim > >>>> **************************************** > >>>> Kimberly G. Smith > >>>> University Professor of Biology > >>>> Department of Biological Sciences > >>>> University of Arkansas > >>>> Fayetteville, AR 72701 USA > >>>> phone 479-575-6359 fax 479-575-4010 > >>>> email kgsm...@uark.edu > >>>> **************************************** > >>>> > >>>> ________________________________________ > >>>> From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [ > ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] on behalf of Andrés Santana [ > andres.sant...@ots.ac.cr] > >>>> Sent: Friday, May 16, 2014 5:20 PM > >>>> To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU > >>>> Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Loss of field courses, continued > >>>> > >>>> We at OTS share this concern. We truly believe that field courses and > field research present students with some of the best opportunities to do > research and understand nature. I know firsthand that spending a semester > out in field stations taking courses and doing research is a life changing > experience. I was fortunate enough to be chosen to participate in a field > semester with and OTS program. > >>>> OTS specializes in field courses and we welcome any faculty member > that wants to teach a course at any one of our field stations. We are > constantly working on and thinking of new field course topics in ecology > and evolution that will prove beneficial to students (undergrad and grad) > in their professional and academic careers. We would be glad to hear your > input and work with any of you setting up courses to teach your students or > students from any university. > >>>> > >>>> Best, > >>>> > >>>> Andrés Santana > >>>> Graduate Education Department > >>>> Organization for Tropical Studies > >>>> San Pedro, Costa Rica. 676-2050 > >>>> (506) 2524-0607 ext. 1511 > >>>> Skype: andres.santana_otscro > >>>> www.ots.ac.cr > >>>> twitter: @ots_tropicaledu > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> -----Original Message----- > >>>> From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto: > ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] On Behalf Of Malcolm McCallum > >>>> Sent: Friday, May 16, 2014 01:08 PM > >>>> To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU > >>>> Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Loss of field courses, continued > >>>> > >>>> Bruce Bury's article... > >>>> Bury, B. 2006. Natural history, field ecology, conservation biology, > and wildlife management: Time to connect the dots. Herpetological > Conservation and Biology 1:56-61. > >>>> http://www.herpconbio.org/volume_1/issue_1/Bury_2006.pdf > >>>> > >>>> On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 10:19 AM, David Inouye <ino...@umd.edu> > wrote: > >>>>> Paul Dayton asked me to post this: > >>>>> > >>>>> Dear Colleagues, I have enjoyed reading your laments about the loss > of > >>>>> field courses and of course have strong opinions about this because > it > >>>>> really is also the loss of respect for nature herself. We can't > >>>>> really understand nature without experiencing it and students can't > >>>>> experience it hiding behind computers in cloistered ivory towers. > >>>>> Harry Greene and I have written about this: > >>>>> > >>>>> The importance of Natural Sciences to Conservation, 2003. American > >>>>> Naturalist (162) and Organisms in Nature as a central focus in > biology > >>>>> 2005, TREE (20) > >>>>> > >>>>> and Ian Billick and Mary Price have a wonderful book: The Ecology > of > >>>>> Place I urge you to buy and read it. > >>>>> > >>>>> But the most important challenge I offer those of you who care enough > >>>>> to comment is to offer a field course yourself. Try it; it takes a > >>>>> little time but even if you don't know that much, your students will > >>>>> help teach it for you and soon you will be considered a legendary > >>>>> naturalist. Don't just complain, offer a field course yourself. It > >>>>> will evolve and you will learn a lot and have a lot of fun as well. > >>>>> Finally, ESA has a Natural History Section in need of your support > and > >>>>> enthusiasm as it I think Nature is disappearing within ESA just as > it did in the Amer. Soc. of Naturalists. > >>>>> Once students lose track of nature and become professors with no > >>>>> understanding or experience themselves, it is hard to recover the > >>>>> sense of wonder nature can induce in our science. > >>>>> > >>>>> Paul Dayton <pday...@ucsd.edu> > >>>> >
