Teaching

Teaching Projects

• 3D Insects → website
  13 static and 3 dynamic virtual insect models are presented on the web. They can be used for teaching morphology and for virtual labs.
  
  
• Cockroach Reproductive Physiology
  Traditionally, cockroaches have been considered pests on the basis of their presence in human dwellings, odors, their ability to acquire, harbor and transmit human pathogenic organisms. More recently, it has been shown that the presence of cockroaches in urban habitations can promote serious asthma reactions in humans, particularly in children. A variety of methods have been developed for cockroach control, but many have become less effective due to the development of pesticide resistance. As a result, there is a need for continued basic studies on cockroach biology to develop new pest control strategies for controlling these insects. Research in our laboratory is focused on cockroach reproduction physiology designed to examine the relationship of developing German cockroach embryos enclosed in an egg case that remains attached to the female until hatch.
  
  
• Concept Mapping on the Web
  Evidence suggests that students of agriculture generally do not possess a strong disposition for critical thinking. In addition, instructional goals and assessment in agricultural education are often not aligned. With pressure on educators to integrate science into agricultural education, instructors are being asked to find innovative ways to use computers for the delivery and assessment of instruction, encourage student learning beyond the classroom, and promote cooperative learning and collaboration in the delivery of instructional material between science- and agricultural-based disciplines. An efficient, cost effective, and discipline-independent method to improve students' disposition toward critical thinking is with concept maps. A concept map is a graphical tool that uses concepts and the relationships between and among them to represent an individual's cognitive structure (the way the individual thinks). The primary goal of this project is to develop a web-based concept mapping tool (CMT) that can be used to facilitate instruction, student learning, and collaboration in agricultural science education. The CMT would help to build student competencies for cognitive thinking by allowing them to integrate and synthesize old and new knowledge across science-related disciplines.
  
  
• Strengthening the Environmental Quality Laboratory of the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Bamako, Mali
  Virginia Tech has committed to an Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP) 5-year project to provide assistance in developing the capabilities of the Environmental Quality Laboratory (EQL) as a leader in pesticide analytical techniques in Mali and West Africa. Another component of the project is pesticide safety education. Pesticide safety will promote personal and environmental safety. Delivery of pesticide safety lessons will be coordinated with demonstrations of IPM practices developed for horticultural crops in Mali. Proper pesticide use will allow the laboratory to function in a quality assurance role. Several Virginia Tech Personnel are providing technical and educational assistance to this laboratory.
  
  
• Tree Fruit Pest Management Updates → website
  This extension project uses the Tree Fruit Pest Management website and e-mail updates to growers, consultants, reseachers and extension agents to disseminate timely data on pest phenology and degree-day accumulations. This information is intended to assist growers in making optimal management decisions for direct and indirect pests of apple and peach.
  
  
• Virginia Pesticide Safety Education Program → website
  Pesticide Safety Education (PSE) in Virginia is a statewide educational program with an overall goal to protect the environment and the public health from improper pesticide use through applicator and public education. The primary target audience includes certified and non-certified pesticide applicators of all kinds, farmworkers, and the general public. Most of the program activity involves training support for a group of approximately 21,000 pesticide applicators who seek training in order to comply with federal and state pesticide certification and licensing requirements. Program efforts are coordinated with other states, state and federal pesticide regulatory agencies, agricultural organizations, manufacturers of pesticide chemicals and alternative control technology, application equipment and engineering control companies, and other related cooperators. The program is supported by Extension agents and specialists from across the Commonwealth. In 2004, Extension agents from over 90 Virginia localities dedicated their time and resources to this program. That group is responsible for holding over 300 annual training meetings and field days designed to benefit pesticide applicators across Virginia and the region. The agents train applicators, develop training media and programs, answer public inquiries, and advise the public on proper and safe pesticide use and the selection of proper pest management strategies including non-chemical alternatives to pesticides.