Cohen, Hamutahl

Hamutahl Cohen is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research looks at how agricultural practices and urbanization impact pollinators and other beneficial insects. Hamutahl participated in training through ISEE in 2014 and 2015. She is excited to take elements of inquiry into her classroom as a teaching assistant and as a graduate instructor. She has a special interest in strategies to promote equity and inclusion in the classroom.   hcohen1@ucsc.edu

Teaching Activity Summary

Name of Teaching Activity: Agriculture-WEST 

Teaching Venue & Date: WEST 2019, Sept 2015

Learners: 11 community-college transfer students.

Assessment of learners' understanding of main content learning outcome:

Our content goal was that vegetation modification improves pest management by enhancing populations of parasitoids. Students were asked to demonstrate understanding using posters. They were able to successfully explain how different vegetation management strategies might enhance parasitoids, but they didnt tie in parasitoid ecology specifically. Their presentations suggested they understood parasitoid life cycles and niche partioning, but they didnt explicitly cite it. Because of this, they mostly scored medium or high. Out of 3 points, most students scored 2/3.

The Bioblitz warm up, rotation starters in the field, and the subsequent quick brainstorm to reflect were our most effective lesson tools to facilitate content knowledge. Students got a lot of important background information through these and were able to link visual practices with theory. However, we could have changed up some our thinking tools and pre-planned questions to keep students thinking about parasitoid ecology as they made their farm plans.