Faculty
Chantale B茅gin
Professor of Instruction
CONTACT
Tampa campus
Office: SCA 329
Phone: (813) 974-7325
Email: cbegin@usf.edu
| Specialty Area | Teaching Area | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Conservation & Disease, Marine Biology, Pedagogy & Education Research Key Words: marine ecology, conservation, coral reefs, pedagogy |
BSC 2011 Biological Diversity |
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Biology, Simon Fraser University, 2012
M.Sc. Biology, Universit茅 Laval, 2002
B.Sc. Marine Biology, Dalhousie University, 2000
TEACHING
BSC 2011 Biological Diversity: I teach Biological Diversity more than any other course
at USF. I really enjoy this course because we touch on so many interesting topics
that are really important as a foundation to a degree in biology.
Biological Diversity can be a bit daunting as it鈥檚 a large class and it鈥檚 often the first or second biology course students take in their degree, and I enjoy helping students get started in the right way. BSC 3362C Tropical Marine Ecology and Conservation: I teach this intensive field course in the Caribbean every May.
It鈥檚 really fun to teach students the field skills needed to carry out research and monitoring projects on coral reefs, including species identification, common survey types, and scientific diving techniques. BSC 4937 Seminar in Marine Biology: This discussion-based course is a great way to review various important concepts in marine biology, and dive into the primary literature to really understand how marine biologists carry out their research. Students learn to think critically about what they read, and improve their scientific communication skills.
RESEARCH
Prior to arriving at USF, my research interests have centered broadly on marine ecology.
My first forays into research were in temperate intertidal zones and kelp forests
of Canada and New England. Eventually my PhD work took me to the Eastern Caribbean,
were I studied the impact of changing land use and increased sedimentation on coral
reefs. My role here at USF focuses on teaching so I have limited time for research
these days.
I still carry out some research on Caribbean coral reef ecology and conservation, as well as some discipline-based education research which helps understand the best ways to teach our biology courses in order to maximize student learning.
I do not supervise graduate students but sometimes have undergraduate researchers or Honors students work with me on some of these projects.