S. Kevin McCormick (he/him/his)

Dual PhD - Zoology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Behavior - 2022 - Michigan State University

BioSci Role: Developing curriculum across the core Biological Sciences Program courses to increase alignment and improve student learning within and beyond BioSci.

I am a behavioral ecologist and educator interested in how students formulate and apply science argumentation to describe biological phenomena. During my undergraduate career I worked on projects ranging from studying evolution through female mate choice in pupfish, to avian thermoregulation, to prairie dog reintroduction efforts. My PhD was focused on personality traits in spotted hyenas, and how agonistic personality traits affected fitness and dominance in hyena clans. My current position focuses on improving student scientific argumentation and communication.

My current curriculum development focuses on improving how students utilize reasoning from underlying biological principles to formulate testable hypotheses and evaluate evidence from lab experimentation and field research to make reasonable claims, with a focus on quantitative reasoning and science communication skills.

I have found that the most rewarding moments in my teaching career have come from when I helped people make connections between their own lived experience and basic scientific principles, and then watching as they use the critical thinking skills I helped them develop to make connections that I never thought of.

If there is any metric by which I measure my teaching success, it is in expression on peoples’ faces when they make these meaningful connections, be they students in a biology class, or individuals attending a science outreach event, which always fill me with a sense of accomplishment and joy.

I take any chance I can to get outdoors. I love to hike, camp, play disc golf, hunt for mushrooms, observe animal behavior, and visit wildlife and nature centers. Due to my love of the outdoors and nature my goal in life has been to do something to preserve ecological communities, which is why I chose to seek an education in biology and then teach biology because I firmly believe Education Equals Conservation.

However, I didn't take the easy path. I struggled in high school and eventually dropped out and thought I would never come back to my dream. After dealing with my own struggles I eventually returned to academia when I was 25 first with a GED, then an Associates Degree from a community college, then a Bachelors of Science from university, followed by my PhD.

Some of my best moments since have been helping others that have also needed to travel non-traditional paths in their educational careers by sharing my experiences, and showing them that no matter their history they belong and can succeed.

Learn More About Kevin's Research and Teaching