Student feedback
As an instructor, I challenge students to be scientist themselves, combining traditional lectures with discussion, thought experiments, critical reading, and case studies. For example, I frequently present real or hypothetical scenarios and encourage students to use critical reasoning and creative thinking to develop hypotheses, design experiments and interpret potential results. My style also encourages participation from the entire class. For instance, I often use imaginary animals to remove the pressure of knowing the ‘right’ answer, and help students build wrong answers into correct ones. The response to my experiential teaching style was been overwhelmingly positive, as reflected by student feedback:
Read below for an excerpt of the Mountain Lake Biological Station newsletter. One of my students wrote a short article about her experiences in the class and living on the mountain. Click here for more information about the station and available classes.
- All in all, this was the best class I’ve ever taken…
- Field biology of sex was hands down my favorite course of my entire college career.
- I would take another class by Dr. Cain in a heartbeat.
- Best professor I've ever had.
Read below for an excerpt of the Mountain Lake Biological Station newsletter. One of my students wrote a short article about her experiences in the class and living on the mountain. Click here for more information about the station and available classes.