Becoming Scientists

Several years back RMBL made some changes to its education program. We’d always had a strong program— our alumni continue to visit and tell us how much their summer taking classes meant to them. But enrollment was down. And we needed to think about what made our program special and make certain we were emphasizing that.

Based upon a review led by the Board, we developed a program that emphasizes research. Every student coming through now does a research project and has multiple opportunities to interact with scientists. We still teach all of the natural history skills that students need to be good field scientists, but the skills are taught in the context of being a good scientist. Perhaps the biggest change is that we are trying to give students opportunities to take control over their education. We are providing opportunities and it is up to them to decide what to pursue. We encourage research assistants to sit in on Botany classes or take the field ecology field trips. It’s a good thing if a mammalogy student wants to spend time keying out plants. Scientists must be internally motivated and actively seeking to explore.

Two years in the changes are clearly working. For the first time that I am aware of, we had a waiting list for our formal education program. More importantly, I see a cohort of students that are actively learning. They are sitting in on classes, helping out with different research groups, and asking very interesting questions. It’s why I loved about RMBL when I first came out as a student in 1988. And making small changes to our program that have big impacts is what I love about my job. I’m proud to be a part of such a community of scholars.