NSU professor brings lectures to an interactive trip to the zoo

Dr. Erik Terdal, a Northeastern State University associate professor of biology, would be the first to admit that his in-class lectures on primates are terrible when compared to seeing the real deal.

I can talk about primates, but you will learn more in just two minutes from watching them, than you would from my lecture, he said earnestly to his Mammalogy class, during a trip to the Tulsa Zoo on Wednesday, March 9.

With unabashed enthusiasm, Terdal encouraged his students to observe the mammals using their sense of sight, smell and sound, while enjoying the morning walk-about.

I can lecture on mammals, and students can read about them, but the Tulsa Zoo has a great collection of living mammals. We will watch how they move. We will listen to them vocalize. This is experiential learning.

Terdals style of teaching represents NSUs overall commitment to immersive learning; where students are urged to look beyond a textbook, get out the classroom, and get hands-on learning opportunities.

CJ Maico, an NSU senior studying organismic biology and a full-time employee at the zoo, said getting your hands dirty was the perfect way to bridge the gap between reading about a theoretical concept and grasping how it actually works.

Youre probably not going to be as passionate about it until you see it, Maico said, as he gave an impromptu lecture on Siamang monkeys to fellow NSU students.

Senior organismic biology student Josh Curry agreed, saying this simple trip to the zoo was helpful to his studies.

Its nice to be out of class and see a representation of the mammals habitats and learn from them.

This is not Terdals first out-of-the-classroom learning excursion. Over the years, he has taken his students to Belize and Costa Rica for ecology-focused research, while also using northeastern Oklahomas Sequoyah State Park as part of a long-term, service-learning project managing the deer population.

This project began 25 years ago, and I have managed it since 2000. It is great to have NSU students out in the field collecting data used to make real-world management decisions about a public resource.

In Terdals more than 20 years of experience in higher education, he believes immersive learning and knowledge retention are complementary.

When I talk to my alumni, their memories are most strongly about their field trips. Education is more than lectures and textbook readings to prepare for exams. That is essential, but not sufficient. When possible, students should take full advantage of the opportunities NSU offers. There is so much more to an NSU education than lectures, readings and exams.