School of Biology, University of St Andrews
I lecture on the 3rd year Animal Behaviour and Terrestrial Zoology modules. I also supervise field work projects (avian foraging) for small groups of students in the Animal behaviour module and 4th year students who undertake year-long honours research projects.
Past Academic Positions
Sessional Instructor, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, 2011 – 2012
Awards
Courses taught and brief descriptions
BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES 100 level, University of Alberta
Fall 2012
Course Description: Principles and development of perception, motivation, learning, and thinking and their relationship to the psychological functioning of the individual. Fulfillment of the 1/4 laboratory credit typically entails serving as a research participant, but can be fulfilled through the completion of alternative assignments. The course is a prerequisite to all courses in the department and is normally followed by PSYCO 105. Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites taking this class.
Course Objectives: The first objective of this course is to introduce you to the field of psychology, which is extremely diverse. My hope is that everyone taking this course becomes interested in a least one aspect of the discipline of psychology and thus explores other, more specialized course offerings. The second objective is to help you to understand the basic mechanisms that allow us to sense, perceive and learn and remember things about the world we live in. The third objective is to understand how the discipline of psychology has changed over the years and where the discipline is today, including the methods available to study psychology. The last objective of this class is to introduce you to opportunities available to you to continue to learn about, participate in and be a practitioner of the scientific study of the brain and mind (psychology!).
PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING 300 level Psychology, University of Alberta
Spring 2011, Fall 2012
Course Description: In this course we will examine a variety of fundamental learning processes, primarily as investigated through research with non‐human subjects. We will begin with an examination of elementary forms of learning and then progress to a consideration of more complex learning and cognitive processes. Some specific phenomena we will examine include: habituation and sensitization, classical (Pavlovian) conditioning, operant (instrumental) conditioning, discrimination learning, memory and cognition in animals. The main focus of this course will be on understanding the mechanisms that underlie these various forms of learning. Thus, the treatment of these topics will be considerably more theoretical than in the prerequisite course (PSYCO 281). Although the primary focus of this course is on structural analyses of learning processes, some consideration will also be given to the biological function and neural bases of learning and cognitive processes.
Course Objectives and Expected Learning Outcomes: The objective of this course is to introduce you to more advanced issues in animal learning and cognition. This will include gaining an understanding of some of the neural mechanisms involved in the learning and cognitive phenomena that we discuss. In addition to these primary objectives, the course is designed around using primary sources and original research in course instruction. Students are expected to gain a deeper understanding of animal learning and cognition, to learn how to critically evaluate original research (i.e., from journal articles), and to express ideas about the subject matter in written form through assignments, and in a Journal Club presentation.
Awards
- Honor Roll with Distinction, Psyco 381, Spring 2011, University of Alberta
- Faculty of Science Graduate Student Teaching Award, 2012, University of Alberta
- Honor Roll with Distinction, Psyco 381, Fall 2012, University of Alberta
Courses taught and brief descriptions
BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES 100 level, University of Alberta
Fall 2012
Course Description: Principles and development of perception, motivation, learning, and thinking and their relationship to the psychological functioning of the individual. Fulfillment of the 1/4 laboratory credit typically entails serving as a research participant, but can be fulfilled through the completion of alternative assignments. The course is a prerequisite to all courses in the department and is normally followed by PSYCO 105. Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites taking this class.
Course Objectives: The first objective of this course is to introduce you to the field of psychology, which is extremely diverse. My hope is that everyone taking this course becomes interested in a least one aspect of the discipline of psychology and thus explores other, more specialized course offerings. The second objective is to help you to understand the basic mechanisms that allow us to sense, perceive and learn and remember things about the world we live in. The third objective is to understand how the discipline of psychology has changed over the years and where the discipline is today, including the methods available to study psychology. The last objective of this class is to introduce you to opportunities available to you to continue to learn about, participate in and be a practitioner of the scientific study of the brain and mind (psychology!).
PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING 300 level Psychology, University of Alberta
Spring 2011, Fall 2012
Course Description: In this course we will examine a variety of fundamental learning processes, primarily as investigated through research with non‐human subjects. We will begin with an examination of elementary forms of learning and then progress to a consideration of more complex learning and cognitive processes. Some specific phenomena we will examine include: habituation and sensitization, classical (Pavlovian) conditioning, operant (instrumental) conditioning, discrimination learning, memory and cognition in animals. The main focus of this course will be on understanding the mechanisms that underlie these various forms of learning. Thus, the treatment of these topics will be considerably more theoretical than in the prerequisite course (PSYCO 281). Although the primary focus of this course is on structural analyses of learning processes, some consideration will also be given to the biological function and neural bases of learning and cognitive processes.
Course Objectives and Expected Learning Outcomes: The objective of this course is to introduce you to more advanced issues in animal learning and cognition. This will include gaining an understanding of some of the neural mechanisms involved in the learning and cognitive phenomena that we discuss. In addition to these primary objectives, the course is designed around using primary sources and original research in course instruction. Students are expected to gain a deeper understanding of animal learning and cognition, to learn how to critically evaluate original research (i.e., from journal articles), and to express ideas about the subject matter in written form through assignments, and in a Journal Club presentation.