Rebecca Elizabeth Teed, PHD

Department:
Biological Sciences
Title:
Associate Professor
Address:
225A Biological Sciences, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy., Dayton, OH 45435-0001

I’m an associate professor at the Department of Biological Sciences at Wright State University.  My current research areas include paleoecology and geoscience education.  Fossil diatoms, pollen, and charcoal are buried and preserved in lake sediment every year, and this has been going on for since the latest ice age in many lakes.  These fossils provide continuous records of lake conditions, regional vegetation, and local climate thousands of years long.  In my classes, I’m trying to measure the effectiveness of different teaching techniques.  The greatest learning gains I am seeing are with cooperative problem-based learning and the most transitory are with lecture. 

I have a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of Minnesota, and worked as a graduate student and post-doc with the Limnological Research Center there. From 2000-2001, I was a lecturer with the University of Maryland - European Division, teaching general biology, math, and computer science to U.S. military personnel in Turkey, Bosnia, and Bahrain.  As a research associate at Carleton College, I studied pollen records from southeastern Minnesota and western Manitoba, and worked on modules for Starting Point, a website to help people teaching introductory Earth science.  I started teaching at Wright State in 2004.

 

Curriculum Vitae

rteedCV23.pdf 224.49 KB

Education History

  • Ph.D. - University of Minnesota - Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior: 1999
  • M. Phil. - University of Cambridge - Quaternary Studies: 1993
  • B.A. - Williams College – Biology: 1990

Teaching

Current Courses

  • EES 1070 Sustainable Earth
  • EES 2550 Earth History
  • EES 3250/6250 Climate Change
  • EES 4510/6510 Effective Scientific Communication

 

Research Statement

Geoscience Education

I’m currently studying the effectiveness of different kinds of learning activities, such as listening to lecture, doing hands-on science, and cooperative learning.

Quaternary Paleoecology:

I also analyze past vegetation changes using fossil pollen and charcoal from lake sediments.  I am interested in the response of vegetation at the prairie-forest border to climate and to fire frequency.  Diatom (algae) remains are often preserved in the same sediment, and these provide an excellent record of changes in lake chemistry.

Students Advised

  • Jackie Manker, B.S. Honors (2019), M.S. (2021)
  • Kristin Kopera, M.S. (2019)
  • Matthew Schmus, M.S.T. (2016)
  • Adam Wilson, B.S. Honors (2016)
  • Robin Coy-Richardson, B.S. (2013)
  • Elizabeth Freeman, B.S. (2015)

Publications

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