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Professor
205C Brehm
2505 River Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-4574
(865) 974-3147
Fax: (865) 974-7297
Email: fschrick@utk.edu
Research Appointment: 88%
Teaching Appointment: 12% |
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TEACHING
My current teaching duties include two undergraduate courses (AS 395, Careers in Animal Agriculture and AS 420, Advanced Reproduction) and guest lectures in a number of other courses (AS 621, Animal Physiology Special Topics; AS 523, Advanced Mammalian Reproduction; AS 280, Animal Biotechnologies and Production Systems; AS 481, Beef Cattle Production and Management; AS 482, Dairy Cattle Production and Management; and VM 897, Theriogenology).
My teaching philosophy, for senior and graduate level courses, is to serve more as a facilitator than a lecturer. The primary course I am associated with is AS 420, which I began teaching in partnership with Dr. John Smalling in fall 1994. Originally, the course had consisted largely of rectal palpation and artificial insemination. Although I recognized the importance of these techniques for production agriculture, I believed a senior level class should be more challenging. Therefore, I brought in new approaches for studying reproductive processes in all farm species. As the class moved forward, I involved other faculty (Drs. Alan Mathew, swine; Fred Hopkins, equine and male physiology; and Lannett Edwards, biotechnology, cloning and IVM/IVF) who had expertise in a variety of areas. Over the years that I have taught this course, I have strived to improve course content and structure. In the fall of 1994, it seemed that 75 % of enrolled students were looking for an easy class. In the fall 2004, 70 % of enrolled students were preparing for veterinary, medical or graduate school.
In teaching courses, I prefer not to use textbooks. Instead, I prefer to discuss new technologies that are published in scientific journals. In AS 420, I originally put together a book that contains lecture notes and recent scientific articles that students could use to prepare them for each class. The student purchased this book from the bookstore to use in class, and hopefully for future reference. A textbook is suggested for use as a reference source if they so desire, but it is not required for the course. The amount of material continued to increase; therefore, I assembled a Web page for use in the fall of 1999. The Web page allowed me to update material presented in the class each year so the newest information will be available to all students. In fall of 2002, I began to use Blackboard for AS 420 and my new class, AS 395. I moved all my lecture and lab material from my web site to that venue and continue to update material each time the class is taught.
During my tenure at UT, I noticed that my students in AS 420 did not have resumes prepared (due the first full week of class), some did not have career goals in mind, had no alternatives if they did not gain entrance into vet or graduate school, and did not really understand where to find this information. Thus, I went to the undergraduate committee and department head to request the opportunity to put this needed information into a class structure (AS 395) for our junior level students. I spent the summer putting together lectures, notes and invited speakers for the core class and feel that our students are now better prepared to find a career in animal agriculture. I’m always re-thinking the classes I teach and now feel that AS 395 may need to be moved back to a sophomore level to get them thinking about their careers and opportunities earlier in their college education.
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