Philosophy
Ecology and evolution are interactive disciplines, and their courses therefore require interactive instruction. Through our teaching, we aim to cater to different learning styles by blending traditional lectures, literature readings, communication exercises, and laboratory and field activities to develop the skills of students who themselves come from a diversity of backgrounds. The goal of our courses are not so much to memorize facts, but to achieve an understanding of how systems operate, providing students with a strong foundation to build upon so they can operate independently in the future. Through varied assignments and instruction styles, we present the same material multiple ways in order to improve long-term retention and benefit those that struggle through more traditional lecturing approaches.
Current courses
At present, the DiCE team contributes three main courses throughout the year:
Diatomology introduces students to the wide world of diatoms through investigating their morphological characteristics, evolutionary history, and practical applications. Offered during the summer semester, students participate in a combination of lectures, labwork, and short sampling trips.
Stream Ecology is held in winter semesters. In this course, students learn about how lotic ecosystems operate over different spatial and temporal scales, as well as within different locations within fluvial networks.
General Ecology provides students with a general knowledge of ecology and serves as a foundation for more advanced ecology courses.
On top of these three courses, team members regularly contribute to other classes at Charles University, such as Microscopy Techniques, Ecology of the Cryosphere, Advanced Ecology Practicals, and the Ecology Field Course.
List of our courses
| Course code | Title | Semester | Language | E-Credits | Guarantor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MB162P38 | Diatomology | summer | English | 3 | Mgr. Kateřina Kopalová, Ph.D. |
| MB162P47 | General Ecology | summer | English | 3 | Mgr. Kateřina Kopalová, Ph.D. |
| MB162P31 | Stream Ecology | winter | English | 3 | Tyler J. Kohler, Ph.D. |