Ann Showalter

Instructor of Biology

Address:
Biology Department - CIS 110D
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Telephone:
(518) 580-5077

Fax:
(518) 580-5071

E-mail:
annshowalter@skidmore.edu

Education and Professional Training:

• Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Miami University (2016)
• B.Sc. in Biology, University of Puget Sound (2006)

I am an Instructor in the Biology Department where I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to better support student learning.  Prior to joining the faculty at Skidmore College, I was an Associate Professor of Biology at Clayton State University, where I focused on effectively structuring and scaffolding course material and implementing evidence-based teaching practices that align with our understanding of how humans learn.  I served as the principal investigator for transforming the biology majors’ introductory laboratory courses into course-embedded undergraduate research courses (CUREs).  To support learning in these courses, I established and managed a Learning Assistant Program that eventually supported courses in Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics.  In 2022, I was awarded the Alice J. Smith Faculty Award, which is the highest teaching award at Clayton State University, for my efforts in the classroom, particularly with these CUREs labs.

My research expertise is in population and community ecology within freshwater aquatic ecosystems, primarily lakes and ponds.  I am drawn to research questions that explore the complexity of systems and that require integration of research across scales and disciplines. During graduate school, I examined the role of ontogenetic niche shifts and ecological stoichiometry in aquatic communities.