Courses | Frances White

I obtain great professional satisfaction from teaching and consider education a fundamental responsibility of academic scientists and faculty members. I believe that teaching should provide students with a rigorous understanding of the theoretical bases, underlying mechanisms, limits of current knowledge, and the relevant research methods pertinent to a particular subject. I also strive to communicate the joys and frustrations of field research. Consequently, my teaching philosophy is geared toward involving students in active thinking and scientific reasoning. This involves giving students hands-on research experience through laboratory and experiential activities that focus on hypothesis testing, behavioral observations, ecological measurements, and computer statistical analysis. I also try to present students with opportunities for independent study projects. I teach courses on primate behavior, primate ecology, primate evolution, human anatomy, evolution of human behavior and sexuality, and biological statistics.