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| Dr. Jack Tessier: Teaching the Big, Integrated Whole of Biology  When
Jack Tessier was a Boy Scout growing up in Norwich, New York, he tried his
hand at teaching tree identification to Boy Scouts eager to earn badges.
Today, with a Ph.D. in environmental and forest biology, Tessier guides CCSU
students through thickets of details to arrive at the broader vistas of full
understanding.Just as he prizes the management of ecosystems as one, integrated whole—from a single carbon atom to the biosphere that encompasses everything—he values teaching biology, ecology, and environmental science to biology majors and non-majors as an integrated body of knowledge. “How hard students cram for exams,” laughs Tessier, “and it’s understandable that they want to get a good GPA and aspire to solid jobs. But I emphasize that that approach limits understanding. It’s better to conceptualize knowledge, which we know has a limited shelf life. In ten years the facts they learn today may become outdated, so they need skills for their life-long learning, whether in teaching or graduate school, or some other profession.” Rumors that Tessier was born with a teaching gene remain unconfirmed, but, in the two years he’s been on the Department of Biology faculty, the assistant professor has twice been a finalist for the Excellence in Teaching Award. Seemingly a “natural,” he’s actually honed techniques—and a high degree of organization and planning—to make learning effective. In his General Biology class, aimed at prospective elementary school teachers, he avoids bombarding students with heavy-duty chemistry/biology/DNA concepts, which he admits, “tend to freak them out.” Rather, Tessier says, “I give them application questions to solve in small groups. I might ask why all siblings don’t look the same and what processes lead to that. Then, if processes cause variations, how can we have identical twins?” The approach is accessible; anxiety dissipates. Undergraduate Michael Williams comments, “He allows us to make connections with our own lives and see how current events and issues are related to our day-to-day living.” Enthusiastic Dianna Troy, a returning student now a teacher who says her son is the same age as Tessier, declares, “Dr. Tessier’s ecology course was relevant to my world. He got me hooked right away by relating what we were learning to what we could do to improve the situation on our planet and even in small ways make a difference. We were given readings about cases of pollution all over the globe to illustrate the fragility of our ecosystem.” Tessier introduced one case study, Cancer Cure or Conservation, based on controversies surrounding harvesting of the Pacific yew to develop Taxol, an anti-cancer drug. He concludes, “Examining competing needs among science and society got us thinking about sustainability in our lives rather than minutiae easily forgotten.” From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side Describing his teaching style, Tessier remarks, “I hope I’m approachable, more laid back than the stereotypical image of a professor in a starched collar pontificating facts from the podium.” Then he grins, “My advisor in college was like that, but I liked him, because in spite of his traditional manner I didn’t fall asleep. He was good. I think if you love your discipline, excel at it, and care about your students’ learning, you’ll be effective.” Tessier sees himself as having graduated from being a lecturer-authority figure to a guide, helping students uncover information for themselves. Dennis Quinn, graduate student in the Department of Biology, says, “He’s been a mentor to me, helping guide me to solutions rather than dictating what I should do.” Quinn, under Tessier’s direction, led a study which involved radio-tracking two populations of eastern box turtle to document their use of forest, field, and wetland habitats throughout the year. Marissa Wright, who as an undergraduate helped on this project, now as a graduate student will take up new questions on habitat fragmentation. As soon as the snow melts, Tessier will continue exploring his favorite area of research—studying forest understory plants, such as trillium, a variety of ferns, and tree seedlings. “I’ve been able to involve my students in this research, and we’ve learned that the wood sorrel species was not keeping its leaves in a pattern scientists had expected, which leads me to question the leaf longevity of a whole suite of species.” This year Tessier published his findings in the American Journal of Botany. Not unexpectedly, Tessier, whose writings have appeared in several professional journals, has published in the American Biology Teacher, discussing his teaching approaches and the results of his teaching assessments. A recent article describes a laboratory experience he developed for an undergraduate-level ecology course at Central. “Students took the role of an environmental consulting firm and had to describe which portion of Stanley Quarter Park could be sold by New Britain with the least damaging ecological consequences,” he explains. After a piece Tessier wrote on a peer-teaching approach he devised appeared in the Journal of College Science Teaching, he notes with satisfaction, “A peer from Israel forwarded to me a collection of his papers on cooperative learning. I invited him to visit CCSU, and he gave a seminar on biology education when he was in the area last fall.” Tessier relates how he had given students a survey at the start and end of the semester asking them to rate their level of care for the environment. “Initially, a majority felt they cared about the environment,” he observed, “and the biggest shift on completion of the course was how they had acquired specific techniques for caring, through voting, limiting their environmental impacts, and thinking about waste that is generated and their purchasing practices. That new awareness came as a revelation to them—and to me! It makes me optimistic that on an individual basis our students will be good citizens and make sound decisions.” — Geri Radacsi
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