Philosophy of Teaching and Learning in the Department of Plant Biology

The overall Mission of the Department of Plant Biology is to acquire basic scientific knowledge in plant biology and to disseminate this knowledge through scholarly works and the education and training of students.  The Department’s academic mission spans a wide range of activities, from the offering of Bachelor's of Science, Master's of Science, Ph.D. and Master’s of Plant Biology (non-thesis) degrees for our majors, to teaching fundamental plant biology courses to science and non-science majors in other disciplines, serving a dominant role in the interdisciplinary biological sciences program, directing the academic programs within the NC State Biotechnology Program, and serving as the focus of interdisciplinary graduate training programs in fundamental and applied plant biology.  As such, the departmental philosophy of teaching and learning is governed by diverse priorities and strategies to meet the multifaceted needs of our student clientele.

The Department of Plant Biology's philosophy of teaching and learning encompasses three major perspectives.  First, our activities as a department are student centered, and are driven by the needs of the diverse student clientele that we serve.  Second, we view research and teaching
as inseparable, and mutually beneficial.  And third, our educational mission is one that has no borders, and extends past the department, to the college, university, and beyond to a national
and international audience of learners.  

 A.     Departmental Activities are Student-Centered and Meet Diverse Need

As a life science department, the Department of Plant Biology was historically established to meet the teaching and academic needs of agricultural departments that had primarily a research and extension function.  Through the years the department has evolved from a
locally-recognized, teaching-focused department to a nationally-recognized department with strong research and academic programs.  However, education remains the primary focus of the department, and our programs and activities are driven by the needs of our students. 

Our interactions with students (all of our students: graduate students, undergraduate majors and minors, science and non-science students in our classes, distance education students)are driven first and foremost with a concern for student needs, both as individuals and as students.  We work to discover how students learn, and guide them to develop the ability to discover on their own.  We recognize the different learning styles of students, and strive toteach to these different styles. We ensure that our courses and curricula reflect the current trends in the discipline and provide students with the training they require to compete for the diversity of employment or additional educational opportunities available to them.  We provide laboratory and instrumentation facilities for students to learn the newest in modern science.

We endeavor to cultivate in students the ability to appreciate the interrelatedness of all forms of learning, and expect our students to take responsibility for their own learning process.  We recognize that students learn by asking questions, and work to provide an environment that allows them to ask questions and be involved in the learning process.  We recognize that students learn by making mistakes, and we allow them to make and learn from these mistakes.  We expect students to utilize each other as sources of information in problem-solving activities.  We expect students to welcome the challenge of mastering difficult material.  As one of our faculty member’s personal teaching philosophy states, “If I am talking over your head, raise your head”.  We then work to provide to them the tools they need to do so.

As a scientific discipline, we strive to instill in students the realization that scientific concepts are not always absolute “truth”, but are based on experimentation, observation, and interpretation.  Scientific “facts” do not change, but our interpretation of their meaning does change as our knowledge and assumptions evolve and expand. As plant biologists, we work to give our students an awareness and respect for the contributions of plants to our lives, from providing the oxygen we breath and the food we eat, to under-girding the entire ecosystem on this planet.  

For our majors, we provide an environment where they gain a sense of belonging.  At the undergraduate level, this effort begins with two courses, PB101/PB102 where students are provided with personal guidance and attention, and opportunities to interact with departmental faculty, staff, and graduate students.  We sponsor an undergraduate Botany Club to foster social and scientific interactions between our majors.  We nudge our students out of their traditional student comfort zone by requiring them to undertake a significant research, teaching, or off-campus activity.  Our goal is to combine the best of two environments; we
provide the personal faculty-student interactions most students only receive at a small liberal arts college along with access to the world-renowned faculty and state-of-the-art research that can only be obtained at a major research institution.

For our graduate students, we provide a faculty with national and international reputations. 
Such a faculty provides students with access to the best possible research opportunities, the opportunity to learn from some of the most respected plant scientists in the world, and access to connections that lead to further research, training, and career opportunities.  In spite of our small size, we are committed to maintaining a faculty that spans a broad disciplinary base, so that our students can balance the focused training they receive in their research programs with a solid foundation in diverse sub disciplines of plant science.  This broad foundation is provided through a broad-based curriculum and access to seminars that span the entire discipline of plant science.

To meet our students’ needs as individuals, we work to help them develop interactions with others, provide them with skills they need for effective communication, and guide them to better function in society.  For all of our students, but particularly our non-science students, we work to instill an appreciation and respect for science, and give them the knowledge and foundation they need to make intelligent choices about the multitude of impacts that science has on their lives.  From genetically engineered food and wetlands preservation to gene therapy and environmental chemicals, students need the tools to evaluate the scientific information available and make decisions that are right for them in their lives.

How do we meet the student’s needs?  We ensure that all faculty that are hired have and
maintain a commitment to teaching.  We evaluate all of our courses, and give serious consideration to student comments on evaluations.  We encourage faculty to utilize resources (workshops, literature, conferences) that improve their teaching.  We secure funds to provide students with physical facilities that are safe and allow access to the newest technologies. 
We tailor our class and lab manuals to the specific needs of the students.  We provide students with access to information that goes beyond the traditional classroom/text book strategies to
web-based information, hands-on access to specialized instrumentation in our teaching and individual research laboratories, and personalized research and teaching opportunities.  We
meet the needs of non-traditional students by scheduling classes late in the day, and by
offering Saturday versions of courses, distance education classes, and specialized workshops.  We recognize the need for on-going evaluation and updating of our curriculum, and react accordingly.  We support our faculty’s research programs to ensure that students have access
to the most contemporary science available, and access to faculty with national and international reputations.

 B.     Research and Teaching are Inseparable

It is the philosophy of the Department of Plant Biology that education of students requires more than simply exposing them to a series of courses.  Learning must include developing the capacity to create new knowledge through research. To meet this philosophy we first provide a department with active research programs, as we believe that a department that emphasizes and supports rigorous research is best positioned to educate students in the discipline.  The advantages go beyond simply being positioned to present the newest research findings to students in classes.  Students that are given the opportunity to interact with faculty members pursuing solutions to the many perplexing questions in plant biology will experience a much richer learning experience than students who are simply asked to learn what is known.  Seeing that faculty lack all the answers and must struggle to advance their knowledge teaches students that their own questions and quest for answers are normal and worthy, and that finding solutions to difficult questions takes time and effort.

We provide students with the most outstanding opportunities for research, not just at the graduate level, but at the undergraduate level as well.  Early in their education, our undergraduates enroll in PB102 where they hear research presentations by faculty, students, and postdoctoral associates, and work closely with faculty to develop a research proposal.  Our majors are then required to obtain a teaching or research experience, depending on the student’s interests.  Our students are provided with the opportunity to develop and carry out their own research projects in faculty laboratories or in off-campus research opportunities.  Through PB102 and their hands-on research, students experience first hand how scientific knowledge is developed.

The department’s commitment to the link between research and teaching is also shown through our dedication to providing laboratory courses for all students, from non-science students through our majors and graduate students.  We have held to this commitment in spite of a disquieting drop in faculty numbers and shortages of TA’s, even while class enrollments soar.  We are committed to laboratory courses not just so students get hands-on experience in techniques, but also so they recognize how the knowledge they are receiving is obtained.

Finally, our commitment to linking research and teaching is underscored by our faculty’s participation and leadership of numerous interdisciplinary training grants.  Such grants provide research and training opportunities for postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate students and educational outreach to primary and secondary students and teachers.

 C.     Our Educational Mission has no borders

The Department of Plant Biology offers major and minor degrees at the Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. level.  However, our commitment to student education extends far beyond the needs of these students.  A significant proportion of our effort is dedicated to providing the fundamental plant biology classes required by majors in agricultural disciplines such as crop, soils and horticultural sciences, to ecology, wildlife, and forestry majors.  Also, as a department focused on plant biology (a discipline which often receives little attention at institutions outside of the land-grant system), we are committed to educating a diverse audience about the fundamental role played by plants in our lives.  Simply put, without plants there would be no other life on planet earth, and we endeavor to ensure that this knowledge is transmitted to the widest possible audience.  As stated above, this goal is being met by our teaching of fundamental plant biology courses to other life, physical, and agricultural sciences majors and to non-science majors.  However, our commitment extends beyond those obvious contributions to the participation and leadership of interdisciplinary curricula on campus, and also to distance education and outreach activities.

The Department of Plant Biology plays a prominent role in the interdisciplinary biological sciences program.  Three of 17 faculty members in the department teach in the biological sciences program.  As some of the first instructors encountered by students with a fledgling interest in biology, we accept and welcome the responsibility to nurture this interest, and provide a foundation that will allow them to move ahead in any of the core biological disciplines.

The Department of Plant Biology is committed to the educational mission of the NC State Biotechnology Program, as the Biotechnology Program Academic Coordinator is a member of our faculty.  It was this faculty member who initiated the discussion and carried through the instituting of the interdisciplinary graduate minor in biotechnology and is currently taking the lead in moving our expertise in biotechnology into the undergraduate realm.  Without the support and nurturing of this department, the Biotechnology Program would lack its academic component.

The Department of Plant Biology is committed to distance education and utilization of technologies that allow us to educate an audience beyond the borders of this university and state.  We support and have in place web-based courses, distance education over the NC-REN network, and summer workshops for high school teachers.  We are active in educational outreach through the extension activities of our herbarium.  We are committed to expanding and extending these efforts to disseminate as widely as possible the benefits of our knowledge and expertise.