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- Off-campus masters
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Five faculty members in the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) at Iowa State University have been
named Master Teachers for 2002-03.
This is the fourth year of the LAS Master Teacher program, which recognizes
teachers who have a reputation for using unique methods to enhance student
learning. This year's awards recognize individuals who have been successful
in developing off-campus learning experiences for Iowa State students.
Previous LAS Master Teacher classes have focused on technology use in
the classroom, large lecture classroom instruction, and undergraduate
research.
The LAS Master Teachers are Warren Dolphin, University Professor of zoology
and genetics; Kathy Leonard, professor of foreign
languages and literatures; Margaret Mook, associate professor of foreign
languages and literatures; Steve Pett, associate professor of English;
and William Simpkins, associate professor of geological
and atmospheric sciences. The five will plan teaching methods seminars
and in-class demonstrations throughout the academic year.
Warren Dolphin,
coordinator of the Biology Program
at Iowa State, is a pioneer in developing study abroad activities for
the students majoring in biology. Dolphin has led six study abroad trips
serving over 120 students with trips to Australia, Central Europe and
Costa Rica. The Biomes
of Australia is a month-long expedition that allows students to experience
the major biogeographic areas of Australia. In addition to taking students
on study abroad tours, Dolphin established and coordinates the Biology
Program's study abroad program. That successful program has seen 13 different
faculty in the biological sciences lead or co-lead international field
trips to every continent while serving more than 300 students since 1995.
Kathy Leonard has taken a lead role in the Department of Foreign Language's
Spanish majors study abroad activities. Last summer, she formed a study
abroad program in Arica, Chile, that included a service-learning component
for all participants. The program will relocate in the summer of 2003
to Bolivia. Leonard also formed the Casa Hispanica (residential) learning
community, whose purpose was the promotion of diversity and multi-culturalism.
Casa Hispanica provided students interested in the study of Spanish the
opportunity to join a supportive learning community where they were able
to interact in Spanish, participate in cultural and social activities,
and receive academic guidance and information on career choices. Casa
Hispanica members lived in Iowa State residence halls and were required
to speak Spanish to each other while in the residence hall.
As an archaeologist, Margaret Mook, who directs Iowa State's Classical
Studies program, has provided students with unique opportunities to apply
their language skills and literary preparation to the scientific analysis
of ancient cities. Mook has taken undergraduate students on three separate
occasions to the Greek island of Crete to assist with specific field research
activities. Next summer, 10-14 Iowa State students will participate in
the new Azoria Excavation project, which Mook serves as a director of.
She has also developed the Classical Studies' first study-abroad program
and has led three groups of Iowa State students to Greece.
Steve
Pett has twice taken Iowa State students to Ireland and once to New
Mexico, excursions modeled on the study abroad philosophy of linking literature
and culture through the experience of traveling and creative writing.
On both Irish trips, the itinerary included time spent with a contemporary
Irish writer as well as a week doing intensive reading, writing and discussion
of their experiences. In the summer of 2001, Pett took students on a two-and-a-half
week intensive course to New Mexico, where they were introduced to a variety
of approaches to the writing of personal nonfiction while living and traveling
through the rich cultural landscapes of that state.
William
Simpkins, a hydrogeologist, provides integrated experiences for the
students in his courses through field components. The centerpiece course
in this effort is Geology 510, Field Methods in Hydrogeology. The course
is centered around two weeks of all day projects dealing with the basic
field methods utilized by practicing hydrogeologists. In addition to the
concentrated field experience of that course, Simpkins incorporates field
trips into his other lecture classes. Field trips include examinations
of College Creek, measuring stream discharge, touring the Ames Water Treatment
Plant and the city’s well fields, and other water-quality research
sites.
Warren Dolphin
Kathy Leonard
Margaret Mook and 2002 Azoria Evcavation crew
Stephen Pett
William Simpkins
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