Diane Ebert-May
Professor, Department of Plant BiologyPhD The University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Office: 213 North Kedzie Hall
Phone: 517-432-7171
Fax: 517-432-5653
Email: ebertmay@msu.edu
Websites: First II and ISB 202
As a plant ecologist, Dr. Ebert-May has conducted long-term ecological research (LTER) on alpine tundra plant communities on Niwot Ridge, Colorado, since 1971. Her interest in the complex interactions occurring in the plant communities combined with her interest in education has lead Dr. Ebert-May towards discipline-based research on the teaching and learning of science.
The research questions she pursues require linking the concepts and processes of biology to those of cognitive science with emphasis on how students construct understanding of the subject. The research methodologies utilized by Dr.Ebert-May reflect the complexity of learning, analogous with designs used to investigate the complexity of an ecosystem. Discipline-based research in teaching and learning biology has a direct application to curriculum, pedagogy and how graduate students and faculty professionally develop as effective teachers.
Her current projects include the development of an empirically-based model to test the effectiveness of active learning in large introductory biology courses for non-majors; curriculum and instructional strategies for teaching students in an ecology course; argument structure and higher-level thinking to improve knowledge and understanding; alternative assessments for large introductory biology courses; self-reflection as a form of student evaluation; and use of LTER sites and other biological field stations for providing faculty and graduate students professional development in teaching.