Leslie Reid

Experimenting with science education

Lectures, labs, papers, exams. As an instructor of introductory-level geoscience courses, geologist Leslie Reid is no stranger to the traditional way of teaching science to undergraduate students. It’s something she’s determined to change, however, through a new position dedicated to improving science education.

"Science is something that hasn’t always been presented in an exciting way, even though it’s an exciting subject,” says Reid, the first holder of the Tamaratt Teaching Professorship in Geoscience at the U of C. “Students learn best through inquiry, engagement and by being active in the learning process. I’m trying to find ways to bring that to my classes even though they may have more than 200 students, many of whom are not majoring in science.”

Known for her passion for teaching, Reid is exploring new approaches to first-year courses. Instead of the usual lectures, exams and lab assignments, she uses video footage of her colleagues in the field, team-based projects and real-life questions to get her students thinking and tackling problems like scientists.

“The days of listening, memorizing and regurgitating should be gone,” Reid says. “I’m finding that the more interested students are in a topic, the more motivated they are to learn and to dig deeply into subject matter meaningful to them.”
It’s a dream job for Reid, who says she’s always been interested in improving the public’s understanding of science and research.

“Science educators are starting to understand that we’re not just training the next generation of scientists, we’re also teaching our future policy makers, teachers and journalists,” she says. “If they’re more informed and have a better understanding of how science affects society, better decisions will be made about the issues facing our world.”