For seven years, I gave classes at Oldenburg University, Germany. I organized and tought beginner courses in Environmental Sciences for bachelor students in their 3rd semester (Lecture on ‘Metabolic cycling in central-european vegetation‚ and practical course on ‚Soil science-hydrogeology-ecosystem relationships‚). The emphasis of this course was on plant physiological-ecological relationships. My duties for this course were (i) giving the lecture (ii) planning the field trips (ii) guide and instruct the student tutors and (iii) the supervision of individual students during the course. For the first semester of the masters studies I developed a course in which I tought theoretical statistical skills in combination with their application in the computer software R. I am currently assisting in the course ‘Integrated practical biology’ in which students learn how to plan and execute experiments in the greenhouse, at the Vrije Universieit Brussel, Belgium.
To learn new techniques of teaching soft skills I participated in the program ‘Hochschuldidaktische Qualifizierung’ of the Universities of Oldenburg, Bremen and Osnabrueck, Germany. Courses gave insight into didactical designs of lectures, varieties of methods, performance records and examinations, and evaluation and feedback in seminars (specific courses: ‚Evaluation and feedback in courses’, ‘Diversity of methods and promotion of active learning’, ‘Concept-oriented planning and examining’, ‘Planning workshop: interactive teaching’, ‘Teaching and learning in and with large groups’, ‘Heterogeneity in teaching’, ‘Curious, critical, independent and motivated’).
Specific courses:
| Winter Term 2021 | Practical ‚Functional biology of plants, fungi and protists; Integrated practical biology‘, BSc Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, Function: Assistant, 3 credit points, 2nd year bachelor.
In this course students learned how to establish a greenhouse experiment (transplanting species, preparation of nutrient solutions), harvest the species, measure plant traits, and answer questions by using the appropriate statistics. |
| Winter Terms 2011 – 2018 (not 2016) | Lecture ‚Ecophysiology of central-European plant communities’, BSc Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Germany, Function: Lecturer, 1.5 credit points, 2nd year bachelor.
This lecture gave insight into properties of ecosystems with regard to their productivity, balances of mineral nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon) and water, and relationships between nutrient inputs into ecosystems and biodiversity. |
| Lecture/exercise course ‚Introduction to statistical methods using vegetation-data‘, MSc Landscape Ecology, University of Oldenburg, Germany, Function: Lecturer, 3 credit points, 1st year master.
This course aimed at introducing and adequately applying basic methods of explorative statistics and statistical tests in the context of ecological data, with the use of the software R©. |
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| Seminar ‚Milieu study nature conservation‚, BSc Environmental Sciences (given in winter term 2011/12), University of Oldenburg, Germany, Function: Lecturer, 3 credit points, 3rd year bachelor.
In this course, the students developed concepts and plans to transform existing areas in the surroundings of the city into more natural areas. This was done in consideration of preserving existing species and making the areas more attractive for species to return, but also in regard to the usage of the areas by humans. First part: introduction into the areas and the targeted species groups. |
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| Internal seminar of the Landscape Ecology Group for PhD, MSc and BSc students, University of Oldenburg, Germany, Function: Lecturer, 1.5 credit points, 3rd year bachelor and 2nd year master.
This seminar served as discussion platform of the working group and students belonging to it. Studies were presented and their outcomes and/or problems were discussed. |
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| Summer Terms 2012 – 2019 (not 2016) | Practical course/seminar ‚Soil-hydrogeology-ecosystem relationships’, BSc Environmental Sciences, in cooperation with Soil Sciences and Hydrology, University of Oldenburg, Germany, Function: Lecturer, 9 credit points, 2nd year bachelor.
This course was the follow-up of the lecture given in winter term and comprised presentations and field excursions. The students learned to apply different field methods, i.e. vegetation relevés, digging soil profiles etc. They later presented their results in the group. Excursions went to bogs, heathlands, flood plains and dry acidic grasslands. |
| Practical course ‚Milieu study nature conservation‚, BSc Environmental Sciences (given in summer term 2012), University of Oldenburg, Germany, Function: Lecturer, 3 credit points, 3rd year bachelor.
This course was the follow-up of the first part. Here, excursions were done to the areas and practical measurement on the sites were conducted (e.g. inventory of existing species) |
Currently
Elias Gossens, PhD student, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Elisa Brouckaerts, Bachelor student, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Lore Marckx, Bachelor student, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Alumni
Julia Bass, PhD student ‚Biodiversity effects on dune and saltmarsh biogeomorphology – a trait-based approach, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, U of Oldenburg, Germany
Tilla Schulte Ostermann, PhD student ‚Plant trait responses to the environment and their effects on ecosystem properties, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, U of Oldenburg, Germany
Miguel A. Cebrián-Piqueras, PhD student, Trade-offs and synergies between forage production, species conservation and carbon stocks in temperate coastal wet grasslands: an ecosystem services and process-based approach, U of Oldenburg, Germany
MSc Anna Martina Volkert ‚Effects of anthropogenically distributed antibiotics on plant functional traits‘, U of Oldenburg, Germany, see Publications
MSc Jelena Gorschlüter ‚Trait-plasticity of three congeneric Impatiens-species as response to different light and nutrient treatments‘, U of Oldenburg, Germany, see Publications
BSc Annegret Fischer ‚Effekte von Tierarzneimitteln auf funktionelle Eigenschaften von Pflanzen am Beispiel von Zea mays‘, U of Oldenburg, Germany
BSc Niels Kappert ‚Enzymaktivität, Spezifische Wurzellänge und Unterirdische Biomasseallokation von Nutzpflanzen und Arten des Ackerrandstreifens unter Antibiotikaeinfluss‘, U of Oldenburg, Germany
BSc Lisann de Jong ‚Do invasives grow better? Testing the growth rate hypothesis of a native herb and its invasive congener‘, U of Oldenburg, Germany
BSc Anna Rauscher ‚Variation of plant functional traits during ontogeny‘, U of Oldenburg, Germany
BSc Claas Lünsdorf ‚Tree allometry and differences in crown shape in relation to growth strategies between canopy and understory tree species‘, U of Oldenburg, Germany
Reader of Theses
PhD Dang Thi Nhu Y ‚Nutrients out of Balance in Vietnamese Aquatic Ecosystems‘, Vrije U of Brussel, Belgium
PhD Marjolein Sterk ‚Operationalising resilience for ecosystem management by assessing ecosystems’, U of Wageningen, The Netherlands
MSc Els Costermans ‚What after alien plant invasion: Effects on native macrophytes and pollinator services‘, Vrije U of Brussel, Belgium
MSc Leendert Plaetinck ‚The effect of herbivore dung addition on freshwater communities in a subtropical savannah habitat – a mesocosm study‘, Vrije U of Brussel, Belgium
MSc Louraine Salabao ‚How diversity influences plant traits and species competition under P-limitation‘, Vrije U of Brussel, Belgium
BSc Waldemar Noll ‚Samenbankanalysen in den Salzwiesen und Wattbereichen vor Spiekeroog‘, U of Oldenburg
BSc Lore de Wolf ‚Impact of giraffe and zebra dung on competition between an Acacia seedling and a savanna grass‘, Vrije U of Brussel, Belgium
BSc Dirk De Groote ‚Ascertain the vegetation succession along the Damma glacier forefield‘, Vrije U of Brussel, Belgium
Vanessa Minden 