Dr. Ryan "Layne" Gaynor

Bio:
I am a behavioral ecologist interested in how changes in the sensory environment impact communication and social interactions between individuals. I recently completed my PhD in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at Ohio State University, where my dissertation work focused on the response of a cooperatively breeding fish to changes in the visual environment.
I am passionate about science education, and strive to prepare my students to be lifelong scientific thinkers. At Ohio State I taught my department’s summer ecology course EEOB 3410, and will do so again this summer at OSU Stone Lab. I have also worked as a teaching assistant for a variety of courses including: BIO 1113 – Biological Sciences: Energy Transfer and Development, EEOB 2510 – Human Anatomy, EEOB 3420 – Behavioral Ecology, EEOB 3310 – Evolution, and EEOB 2520 – Human Physiology.

Abstract:
My ultimate goal as an educator is to prepare my students to be lifelong critical thinkers and thoughtful consumers of scientific media. I strive to achieve this through the use of discursive teaching strategies designed to encourage students to reflect on the course materials. I also aim to structure my courses to increase student agency by giving them options in how they can engage with the course content. To illustrate my approaches, I will lead a short lesson on evolution via natural selection. In large lecture settings I incorporate frequent check-in questions, short discussion prompts, and case studies into my lessons to promote student engagement. Regular check-in questions give me immediate feedback about student understanding and can highlight topics in need of further development. Outside of lecture students are encouraged to complete short-form writing assignments designed to help them organize and apply the course content. I will then discuss potential assessment tools for gauging the effectiveness of my teaching strategy.