Workshops

The AOU Student Affairs Committee (SAC) organizes a professional development workshop for students at each annual meeting. Generally these workshops allow students to learn skills and techniques from a panel of professional ornithologists. Each year the SAC assembles a panel of professionals to discuss a different topic. Students hear a short presentation from each member of the panel and are then given an opportunity to ask the panel questions about the topic.

Past Workshops

2010: Partnering with Non-academic Institutions

Held at the AOU/COS/SCO Joint Meeting, San Diego, California, 7 February 2010

This workshop was presented at the joint meeting of the AOU, Cooper Ornithological Society, Society of Canadian Ornithologists. Five representatives from academia and non-academic institutions represented their ideas about how best to get involved with non-academic institutions, and how to make collaborations successful:

Speakers (click on name for powerpoint presentation):

• Erica Dunn – Environment Canada
• Dylan Kessler –University of Missouri
• Ellen Paul – Executive Director, Ornithological Council
• Susan Farabaugh – San Diego Zoo Shrike Breeding Program Manager
• Nikola Koper – Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba

Our five speakers spoke to students and early career professionals about their successful collaborations with NGOs, government, and for-profit institutions. We learned about lots of great career options both within academia and outside academia that will allow us to contribute to solving real world problems.

Advice from our speakers included:

1. Develop strong interpersonal relationships and deliver on your promises
2. Be sensitive to the needs and goals of other institutions where science is not the top priority
3. Maintain good communication.

We have also compiled a Wish List (PDF, 169 KB) of research projects that non-academic institutions would like to see addressed.

2010: Get To Know Your Society

In 2010 we also hosted a short informal workshop that discussed what the American Ornithologists’ Union, Cooper Ornithological Society, and Society of Canadian Ornithologists do when they aren't holding meetings.

We thank the representatives from these three societies that discussed what their society does on a year round basis and provided information on how individuals can get more involved in those activities.

Representatives include:

• AOU - Carla Cicero (UC Berkeley) – Carla’s Handout . More information can be found at: http://www.aou.org/committees/
• COS - Bonnie Bowen (Iowa State University) – Information about committee chairs can be found at http://www.cooper.org/about/leadership.htm
• SCO - Erica Nol (Trent University) – Erica’s Handout

If you would like to get involved but don’t know where to begin feel free to contact the current AOU Student Affairs Committee Chair and we’ll get you in contact with the appropriate personnel.

2009: Innovative Teaching in Ornithology

In collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Education Program, this workshop provided a forum to discuss new ideas and best practices for teaching ornithology and related classes. Nearly 60 attendees listened to leading ornithology professors give brief presentations illustrating creative teaching techniques. Speakers included:

• David Winkler, Cornell University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Bird Families of the World as a Framework for Ornithology (PDF) (1.00MB, 20pp)
• Dan Ardia, Franklin and Marshall College, Department of Biology. Teaching Natural Selection and Variation with Digital or Museum Specimens (PDF) (1.56MB, 14pp)
• Margaret Voss , Penn State Erie, Department of Biology. Using CamClickr, an On-line Citizen Science Project, to Teach Observation and Quantification of Animal Behavior (PDF) (73K, 3pp)
• Margaret Rubega, University of Connecticut, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Get Your Students Twittering: Social Networking in Ornithology Classes (PDF) (312K, 14pp)

Read what others said about the workshop on Round Robin.

Handouts

• NSF CCLI Grant Handout (PDF, 79K, 1p) – help to pilot and critique curriculum resources and tools
• Resources for Teaching Ornithology and Related Courses (PDF, 26K, 2pp)

2008: Publishing

Editors of peer-reviewed journals discussed issues related to getting published. They covered topics such as how to: choose an appropriate journal, understand peer review, respond to reviewers and deal with rejection. Speakers included:

• David Dobkin, The Condor
• Guy A. Baldassarre, The Journal of Wildlife Management

Handout: (Baldassarre's handout) Guidelines for writing and publishing scientific papers (PDF) (11pp, 221K)

2007: Careers in Ornithology

provided information about (1) job opportunities within and outside academia, and 2) tips on how to be a successful job candidate.

2006: Grant Proposals - A 4-member panel discussed how to write a successful grant proposal. Speakers included:

• Tom Martin, USGS Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana
• Kim Sullivan, Utah State University
• Peter Dunn, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Jordan Karubian, Latin America Director Center for Tropical Research International Training and Research Center - Ecuador, UCLA Institute of the Environment

Handouts:

• Funding Sources (PDF) (6pp, 79K)
• Jordan Karubian's presentation on post-doctoral funding (PPT) (15pp, 67K)
• Kim Sullivan's presentation on grant writing tips (PPT) (10pp, 38K)

2005: Manuscript Reviewing

Spencer Sealy, past editor of the Auk, led a workshop on how to review manuscripts.