Know Your Profs is an ongoing series of articles helping you get to know the instructors at Camosun College a bit better. Every issue we ask a different instructor the same 10 questions. Got someone you want to see interviewed? Email editor@nexusnewspaper.com and we’ll get on it.
This time around we caught up with Biology and Environmental Technology instructor Annette Dehalt and talked about agonizing over grading, the importance of bringing an extra jacket, and the gap between knowledge and knowledge-based action.
1: What do you teach and how long have you been a teacher at Camosun?
After a varied career of teaching, eco-tourism, and environmental contract work, I came to Camosun in 2003. I’m teaching in both the Biology department and the Environmental Technology program—courses range from Introductory Biology to Marine Biology and Vertebrate Ecology and also include a number of field modules. I’m a big proponent of field trips, since I believe nature can best be taught in nature.
2: What do you personally get out of teaching?
Between my various jobs in dealing with people—think tour destination management—and with biological science—think research cruise or microscope work—I’ve always enjoyed those jobs best that offered both interaction with people and with biology. That’s why I always gravitated back to science education. I love sparking that same enthusiasm and empathy I feel for living things in someone else. I find it very rewarding to have helped someone to a better understanding of nature. It makes my day if I learn of students paying it forward and making a contribution to animal or environmental protection, be it in their careers or personal endeavours.
3: What’s one thing you wish your students knew about you?
That I agonize about their marks. That I sometimes wish I could just teach, and not worry about assessing everybody’s performance. I remember from being a student that grading seemed like such a fearsome power professors had. Now that I’m on the other side of the fence, it’s actually the toughest part of the job. I’m a stickler for fairness, and try to ensure no one gets an unfair advantage or disadvantage. And it’s never fun to assign a poor grade.
4: What’s one thing you wish they didn’t know about you?
That I usually bring a stash of extra jackets, rain gear, snacks, UV screen lotion, etc., to field trips. It drives me crazy when people come optimistically under-prepared despite instructions to the contrary—kind of reminds me of myself in my younger years—but I never quite have the heart to let them learn the really hard way…
5: What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you as a teacher here?
Developing a new non-majors course in Introductory Marine Biology. My background is in biological oceanography—ecological relationships between marine circulation, krill, and humpback whales—but until a couple of years ago, I never had the chance to teach a course in my specialty. Camosun supported my proposal to offer this new course, which to my knowledge still is the only first-year level Marine Biology course in the province. It’s been a special joy to introduce students to life in the oceans—and, yes, I even took them whale-watching!
6: What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you as a teacher here?
There was this embarrassing case of “absented-minded professorship”: it was mid-week in a winter semester, and by 9:30 am I was in my Wednesday morning routine—hair in towel, with a big mug of coffee at my computer at home, putting a couple of finishing touches on my 10:30 am lecture notes, when the phone rings. It’s the head lab technologist: “Are you okay? What should I tell the class? They’re waiting to get in the lab.” “It can’t be my class,” I respond confidently. “I don’t have lab on Wednesdays; I’m getting ready for my 10:30 lecture.” To my horror, I am informed that it is indeed only Tuesday and my lab has officially started 5 minutes ago. Luckily, I live close to work! While I still value, and evaluate, punctuality in my students, everybody gets one “no penalty, no questions asked” late assignment since that day…
7: What do you see in the future of postsecondary education?
I would like to see more integration and less compartmentalization of subjects, a more multi-disciplinary, problem-solving approach. For example, having instructors and students group around a hot new research topic—for example, animal sentience—or a local issue: urban wildlife or habitat pollution. Then pool resources from various faculties, including Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, Philosophy, Political Science, First Nations Studies, Law, and Economics to address the topic in a more holistic fashion.
8: What do you do to relax on the weekends?
On weekends, when I’m not catching up on chores, I take time to Skype with my family in Germany, go for a hike with friends and our dogs, go horseback riding, or simply putter around my large garden.
9: What’s your favourite meal?
Can’t say I have one favorite meal, but staples in my house are muesli and homemade bread, lots of fruits, nuts, veggies, beans, and lentils. And huge slabs of dark chocolate, just to keep it honest. It was difficult for me at first to exclude meat, which I’m doing for humane and environmental reasons, but I’ve probably become a better and more adventurous cook as a vegetarian!
10: What’s your biggest pet peeve?
The gap between knowledge and knowledge-based action. In my opinion, it’s usually not the lack of science or knowledge that prevents progress in society, and that can be very frustrating for an idealistic science educator… The data are in—we know enough about what causes harm to the environment, certain species, and individual animals to change the status quo of so many practices. And yet change is slow, and knowledge without compassion may not get us there.