I teach this course in only the spring each year. Physiology is the study of how plants function and interact with their environment. This is an upper-level course with Biology 130, Biology 160, Chemistry 105 and Chemistry 106 as prerequisites. I teach one or more sections of seminar each semester. I require student to give to fifteen minute presentations during the semester.
Effective teaching requires clear overall objectives and well defined student goals.
The use of objectives and goals provides a road-map for students as well as teacher. My role as a teacher is to create a learning environment which challenges students to think critically and to facilitate learning which takes students beyond memorization of facts to understanding, analyzing and synthesizing information. Currently, I am establishing research projects to study the interaction of potato and the fungal pathogen Verticillum . My goal is to understand how the physiology resistant genotypes of potato differs compared to susceptible genotypes. I am also interested in pursing research on ginseng root.