Talking about my fit Flashcards
Why did you apply for this job?
I applied for this job because I am passionate by the subject (Grassland Ecology), and I feel that all my years of formal training and professional experience prepared me with the knowledge and skills required in this job. In short, I have experience building, managing and analyzing large spatio-temporal datasets; my formal training is on Ecology and I have 7 years of experience doing research on Vegetation Ecology and Rangeland Ecology. I also have experience teaching student-centered courses on soil ecology, field ecology and data science. I have experience working on/ and managing international, diverse and multi-disciplinary teams and I would be more than happy keep doing this in the future.
My future plans of research goes in line with what you describe in the job description. It comprises an understudied topic that is to investigate below ground traits in response to management and its effects on ecosystem service provisioning, such as C storage.
And, to add to that, UNL is one of the world’s leading colleges of agriculture and natural resources sciences. I am really happy to be here today and talk a little bit about my plans and experiences.
Why are you interested in our university/college?
- It is classified among R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity
agricultural extension program - I am interested in working in the Agronomy and Horticulture Department because of the possibility to teach undergrad and graduate courses. I love teaching and mentoring and it is one professional goals to teach/mentor undergrad and graduate students while developing high quality research. I am sure that UNL have the resources and personnel that I can collaborate with.
What is it about our department that interests you?
The Agronomy and Horticulture department has a very diverse, active and experienced group of researchers with whom I would be happy to collaborate and learn from them. The research topics are complementary to mine which is Grassland Ecology and Vegetation Ecology. I see many possibilities for fruitful collaborations with researchers working in physical, chemical and biological soil research, biochemistry and rangeland ecology.
Infraestructure, personel, professional development opportunities
What are your impressions of our curriculum?
(REDO) I really enjoyed the curriculum and courses you offer. I observed that the department’s focus is on the environmental aspect of agroecosystems, with a strong focus on soil and vegetation aspects. I feel that I can contribute to the department with my knowledge of Ecology and Sustainability. I would be more than happy to offer courses that are already listed on the curriculum (Contemporary Issues in Agriculture, Intro to Environmental Science, and Soil and Plant Analysis) and offer new courses related to data science and ecology, which I hope will be of interest to the department. Data science would involve learning the R programming language, managing and visualizing data, as well as analyzing data, with a focus on agronomy and natural sciences datasets. The ecology course would focus on interpreting and solving agronomic problems through the application of ecological theory.
What experience do you have working at this type of institution?
UFPR, UFRGS and UNL - > all R1 institutions
What I learned with each one of them and how it relates do Purdue University.
How would you teach a class on Grazing Land Ecology?
Both pre-lecture activities and during lecture activities are included, with a focus on activities to engage students and encourage increased discussion and reflections.
Teach students to think and act like professionals in Range Ecology.
I am constantly assessing my student’s level of understanding regarding the class content through formative (it is ongoing learning activities) and summative assessments (end of some particular and predetermined time in the academic year, also known as summative assessment).
- Simulations: provide students with real-live experience and to give them a chance to fully apply their learning skills and resources, task-based simulations are used as the qualitative assessment strategy
- Open questions
- Tests and quizzes - evaluating different cognitive levels of understanding of the students about the studied subject
- Online forums and discussions groups
- Group project and peer-based feedback
- Scenario -based assessment and case studies: problem-solving case study stimulates their critical and analytical thinking.
I commonly plan a course or a lecture by setting a good learning environment.
Why do you want to teach at a research-intensive institution?
What drives me to become an academic at a research institution is the love for Rangeland Ecology and Agroecology and to find new facts about reality, to tie these facts to theories, and to present these to one’s colleagues and students, that is what I like doing.
Make a change-> contribute to students formation (connect theory and practice) to better deal with unprecedented times (climate change, political instabilities)
Qualities I have:
- Have actively written proposals and being active in professional organizations.
- experimental and theoretical expertise on Agroecology
- teaching experience especially in different settings, including lab and field courses, experiential learning and design.
