TEACHING
I love to teach. Outside. In the classroom. In the lab. Online. Anywhere!
My teaching philosophy has 3 central facets: enthusiasm, clarity, utility. I could muse all day about the importance and inter-connectedness of these factors. But I won't do that here.
You can contact me personally to delve into the philosophy of teaching, or to request my official teaching dossier.
I love to teach. Outside. In the classroom. In the lab. Online. Anywhere!
My teaching philosophy has 3 central facets: enthusiasm, clarity, utility. I could muse all day about the importance and inter-connectedness of these factors. But I won't do that here.
You can contact me personally to delve into the philosophy of teaching, or to request my official teaching dossier.
SELECTED TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Instructor, Ornithology (BIOL3622) (Spring 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
· Deliver a well-established spring field course over an intensive 2-week duration
· Spend 8 days ‘in the field’ at a remote research station camping with 15 students, taking advantage of every opportunity to teach bird identification skills (ID by both sight and sound), including dawn chorus surveys on foot in coastal, forest and bog habitats, river surveys by canoe, chimney swift roost counts at dusk, owling under darkness
· Guide students in designing and implementing field projects
· In 2020, successfully adapted the course for online delivery, catering each student's learning experience to focus on their local bird species
Instructor, Ecology section of Integrated Science (SCIE1505) (Fall 2016)
· Deliver the ecology section for the Biology component of Dalhousie's Integrated Science Program (DISP), including lectures, labs and field trip coordination
· DISP provides an intensive and comprehensive first-year science curriculum to prepare students for BSc Honour's programs
Instructor, Biologging in Ecology (MARI/BIOL4323) (Winter 2014, 2015, 2016, Fall 2016)
· Developed and deliver a new fourth-year marine biology course touching on all aspects of biologging science (using animal-attached electronics to study free-ranging animals) including the history and future of tagging technologies, study design, bias, ethics and data analysis
· Continuously direct all course content and exercises back to the overarching intention of the course: gaining universally-applicable practical skills in science (i.e. developing novel ideas, proposal writing and public speaking)
Undergraduate Honour’s Student Advisor (2012-2013, 2017-2018)
· co-supervised two undergraduate Honour's students
- one student worked with a sub-set of my PhD data to assess the influence of wind on albatross fledging
- one student collected point count data for songbird communities in Thomas Raddall Provincial Park, NS to assess how land classification types influence species distribution and abundance
· Provided feedback on proposal and report writing, encouraged time management
· Guided methodological approaches and remained available for advice at all times
Instructor, Ornithology (BIOL3622) (Spring 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
· Deliver a well-established spring field course over an intensive 2-week duration
· Spend 8 days ‘in the field’ at a remote research station camping with 15 students, taking advantage of every opportunity to teach bird identification skills (ID by both sight and sound), including dawn chorus surveys on foot in coastal, forest and bog habitats, river surveys by canoe, chimney swift roost counts at dusk, owling under darkness
· Guide students in designing and implementing field projects
· In 2020, successfully adapted the course for online delivery, catering each student's learning experience to focus on their local bird species
Instructor, Ecology section of Integrated Science (SCIE1505) (Fall 2016)
· Deliver the ecology section for the Biology component of Dalhousie's Integrated Science Program (DISP), including lectures, labs and field trip coordination
· DISP provides an intensive and comprehensive first-year science curriculum to prepare students for BSc Honour's programs
Instructor, Biologging in Ecology (MARI/BIOL4323) (Winter 2014, 2015, 2016, Fall 2016)
· Developed and deliver a new fourth-year marine biology course touching on all aspects of biologging science (using animal-attached electronics to study free-ranging animals) including the history and future of tagging technologies, study design, bias, ethics and data analysis
· Continuously direct all course content and exercises back to the overarching intention of the course: gaining universally-applicable practical skills in science (i.e. developing novel ideas, proposal writing and public speaking)
Undergraduate Honour’s Student Advisor (2012-2013, 2017-2018)
· co-supervised two undergraduate Honour's students
- one student worked with a sub-set of my PhD data to assess the influence of wind on albatross fledging
- one student collected point count data for songbird communities in Thomas Raddall Provincial Park, NS to assess how land classification types influence species distribution and abundance
· Provided feedback on proposal and report writing, encouraged time management
· Guided methodological approaches and remained available for advice at all times
STUDENT FEEDBACK
from Dalhousie's official teaching evaluations
Anonymous comments from Biologging in Ecology (BIOL/MARI4323)
"Over the entire course Sarah has shown her enthusiasm not only for the subject matter, but for us as students to get the most out of the course and really take away the most relevant information that would help us should we choose to do similar research in our own careers. She included interactive labs, reviews and peer reviews to try to get our work to be its best before it was graded, as well as putting in what I imagine to be a huge amount of effort to organize the many fantastic guest lectures we were able to attend. Sarah is always concerned with maintaining professionalism, but is still able to make the class a comfortable setting where ideas can be shared and everyone is on the same level. This has been one of the best courses I have taken during my undergrad degree, and I feel as though Sarah has made it more than just a series of lectures, and instead provided us with the ability to make informed decisions and think about how to do research in the most realistic way possible. It was a fantastic course, thank you, Sarah."
"Dr. Gutowsky was always available and willing to meet with students and help answer questions. She conducted her class in a professional manner yet still with a lot of enthusiasm. She shows a passionate interest in the subject matter that encouraged her students to adopt and share her enthusiasm. Dr. Gutowsky's course is an excellent fourth year course as it prepares upper level students for what to expect when they move on to the next step in their academic/research career. Her assignments were unique (e.g. filming presentations, designing experiments), which encouraged students to think critically. Overall the design of the course, the assignments, and overall teaching exceeded expectations."
"Sarah was incredibly engaging. I cannot say enough about her teaching methods and her enthusiasm for making us better researchers. I hated some of the stuff she pulled...taping our presentations and making us watch them...but they were incredibly effective. She displays a wealth of knowledge, strongly encourages interaction and professionalism, all the while creating a comfortable and open atmosphere. She works to push us a little out of comfort zone which, in the end, is the ultimate lesson...especially if you expect to make a career out of scientific research."
"Sarah was extremely enthusiastic about the subject matter, she shared her extensive experience in biologging and taught the class in a hands on real-life applicable way. I think that this was particularly helpful since the field of biologging is not really theoretical, so memorization is not necessary. Sarah brought in guest speakers and experts in their own fields to help increase the opportunities for learning."
"Sarah is very passionate about her work and this definitely inspired the students to care as well. I thought getting in so many speakers was so cool and we were able to learn about so many aspects of biologging. She used fair methods to grade us and gave us plenty of opportunities to do well and the assignments were actually interesting."
"Provided excellent feedback and was always willing to help if approached. Sarah was very enthusiastic about the material and that made it easy to learn from her. Was also very understanding of extenuating circumstances. Presented the material in such a way that I wanted to come to class and wanted to learn. I really appreciated the way the final proposal was done. I think writing a proposal is an important skill to learn and the way it was done in this class ensured that it wasn't overly stressful and we had the opportunity to get help at each step along the way."
"Sarah outline expectations at the beginning of the semester clearly. There was no "make work" projects within her syllabus, and all assignments were integrated with the class subject matter. Sarah was fair in marking and gave an appropriate level of work. At no time did I feel she was assigning work in order to justify assigning work. The class flowed well, and the final project was essential to the structure of the class."
"Sarah gave some of the best written feedback I have ever recieved from a professor. She made herself available for meetings outside of class often to discuss the term project. She had industry professionals come talk about their work, which was both educational and highly stimulating."
"Sarah provided us with the opportunity to write our own research proposal over the course of a semester, giving us feedback along the way. No other science course that I've taken has done this, and I feel so much more confident having to write research papers in the future because of this."
Anonymous comments from Ornithology (BIOL3622)
"Focused, intense, and excited. Exactly what was needed to learn the abundance of information presented in the class."
"Very enthusiastic about birds! Willing at all times to have in depth discussions about birds, field methods and navigating field school jobs. Super helpful, very engaging, very concerned about the learning of all students on the course. Great Prof!"
"This particular course was almost entirely outside my discipline as a Marine Biologist. As such I was a little nervous to be going into a terrestrial field setting where I have less general knowledge. However Sarah soon made it clear that that would not be an issue. The way in which she showed genuine interest in the students understanding of the practical material was excellent. She was knowledgeable, approachable, and gave a definite sense of direction to all field activities but without sucking the fun out of them. She also fostered curiosity and welcomed students to share and discuss their opinions. I have taken two other seaside courses, both of which were well orchestrated but neither of which included overnight trips. The field portion of this class was incredibly well organized, I was never once stressed due to lack of direction or preparation. I had so much fun and learned so much, I really can't stress enough how much I enjoyed this class. It was in large part due to Sarah and I would jump at the chance to work with her again."
"She was extremely enthusiastic during the course and made all of us genuinely care about what we were learning. She was always repeating what we had learned and helped us understand it in a practical way."
"Sarah was one of the best professors I have ever had. She genuinely cared about every student in her class, and focused every ounce of her energy to our learning and understanding of the material. The first day of class all the students were asked what they knew about birds and almost everyone said they knew nothing. It is now the last day of the course and every member of the class has increased their interest and enthusiasm about birds drastically. There are many courses in university where there is no connection between the professor and their students, but this course was the complete opposite. I can absolutely say that I gained memories, experiences and knowledge that I will never forget!"
"Her style of lecturing was very effective and interesting. She put 200% into the course. Her enthusiasm was catching. It was definitely one of my favourite courses, if not the favourite course that I have taken during my undergraduate degree. For me, she is the epitome of a role model, in terms of a female biologist. The field trip made us feel like a tight knit group. It was so much fun."
from Dalhousie's official teaching evaluations
Anonymous comments from Biologging in Ecology (BIOL/MARI4323)
"Over the entire course Sarah has shown her enthusiasm not only for the subject matter, but for us as students to get the most out of the course and really take away the most relevant information that would help us should we choose to do similar research in our own careers. She included interactive labs, reviews and peer reviews to try to get our work to be its best before it was graded, as well as putting in what I imagine to be a huge amount of effort to organize the many fantastic guest lectures we were able to attend. Sarah is always concerned with maintaining professionalism, but is still able to make the class a comfortable setting where ideas can be shared and everyone is on the same level. This has been one of the best courses I have taken during my undergrad degree, and I feel as though Sarah has made it more than just a series of lectures, and instead provided us with the ability to make informed decisions and think about how to do research in the most realistic way possible. It was a fantastic course, thank you, Sarah."
"Dr. Gutowsky was always available and willing to meet with students and help answer questions. She conducted her class in a professional manner yet still with a lot of enthusiasm. She shows a passionate interest in the subject matter that encouraged her students to adopt and share her enthusiasm. Dr. Gutowsky's course is an excellent fourth year course as it prepares upper level students for what to expect when they move on to the next step in their academic/research career. Her assignments were unique (e.g. filming presentations, designing experiments), which encouraged students to think critically. Overall the design of the course, the assignments, and overall teaching exceeded expectations."
"Sarah was incredibly engaging. I cannot say enough about her teaching methods and her enthusiasm for making us better researchers. I hated some of the stuff she pulled...taping our presentations and making us watch them...but they were incredibly effective. She displays a wealth of knowledge, strongly encourages interaction and professionalism, all the while creating a comfortable and open atmosphere. She works to push us a little out of comfort zone which, in the end, is the ultimate lesson...especially if you expect to make a career out of scientific research."
"Sarah was extremely enthusiastic about the subject matter, she shared her extensive experience in biologging and taught the class in a hands on real-life applicable way. I think that this was particularly helpful since the field of biologging is not really theoretical, so memorization is not necessary. Sarah brought in guest speakers and experts in their own fields to help increase the opportunities for learning."
"Sarah is very passionate about her work and this definitely inspired the students to care as well. I thought getting in so many speakers was so cool and we were able to learn about so many aspects of biologging. She used fair methods to grade us and gave us plenty of opportunities to do well and the assignments were actually interesting."
"Provided excellent feedback and was always willing to help if approached. Sarah was very enthusiastic about the material and that made it easy to learn from her. Was also very understanding of extenuating circumstances. Presented the material in such a way that I wanted to come to class and wanted to learn. I really appreciated the way the final proposal was done. I think writing a proposal is an important skill to learn and the way it was done in this class ensured that it wasn't overly stressful and we had the opportunity to get help at each step along the way."
"Sarah outline expectations at the beginning of the semester clearly. There was no "make work" projects within her syllabus, and all assignments were integrated with the class subject matter. Sarah was fair in marking and gave an appropriate level of work. At no time did I feel she was assigning work in order to justify assigning work. The class flowed well, and the final project was essential to the structure of the class."
"Sarah gave some of the best written feedback I have ever recieved from a professor. She made herself available for meetings outside of class often to discuss the term project. She had industry professionals come talk about their work, which was both educational and highly stimulating."
"Sarah provided us with the opportunity to write our own research proposal over the course of a semester, giving us feedback along the way. No other science course that I've taken has done this, and I feel so much more confident having to write research papers in the future because of this."
Anonymous comments from Ornithology (BIOL3622)
"Focused, intense, and excited. Exactly what was needed to learn the abundance of information presented in the class."
"Very enthusiastic about birds! Willing at all times to have in depth discussions about birds, field methods and navigating field school jobs. Super helpful, very engaging, very concerned about the learning of all students on the course. Great Prof!"
"This particular course was almost entirely outside my discipline as a Marine Biologist. As such I was a little nervous to be going into a terrestrial field setting where I have less general knowledge. However Sarah soon made it clear that that would not be an issue. The way in which she showed genuine interest in the students understanding of the practical material was excellent. She was knowledgeable, approachable, and gave a definite sense of direction to all field activities but without sucking the fun out of them. She also fostered curiosity and welcomed students to share and discuss their opinions. I have taken two other seaside courses, both of which were well orchestrated but neither of which included overnight trips. The field portion of this class was incredibly well organized, I was never once stressed due to lack of direction or preparation. I had so much fun and learned so much, I really can't stress enough how much I enjoyed this class. It was in large part due to Sarah and I would jump at the chance to work with her again."
"She was extremely enthusiastic during the course and made all of us genuinely care about what we were learning. She was always repeating what we had learned and helped us understand it in a practical way."
"Sarah was one of the best professors I have ever had. She genuinely cared about every student in her class, and focused every ounce of her energy to our learning and understanding of the material. The first day of class all the students were asked what they knew about birds and almost everyone said they knew nothing. It is now the last day of the course and every member of the class has increased their interest and enthusiasm about birds drastically. There are many courses in university where there is no connection between the professor and their students, but this course was the complete opposite. I can absolutely say that I gained memories, experiences and knowledge that I will never forget!"
"Her style of lecturing was very effective and interesting. She put 200% into the course. Her enthusiasm was catching. It was definitely one of my favourite courses, if not the favourite course that I have taken during my undergraduate degree. For me, she is the epitome of a role model, in terms of a female biologist. The field trip made us feel like a tight knit group. It was so much fun."
