Eric Ribbens

Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
Western Illinois University
Department of Biological Sciences
Macomb, IL 61455 E-Ribbens@wiu.edu

Phone:309 255-1650

Background Information

I'm a plant ecologist, interested in what plants do. I build spatial models to describe the distribution of tree seedlings around their parents, and I'm also engaged in a longtime passionate relationship with a little prickly pear that grows in the midwest and Canada. I teach several introductory biology courses, a tropical ecology course with a field trip to Costa Rica, and our environmental studies capstone course.

Related Pedagogical Projects

I'm very interested in the use of case studies to teach concepts, especially biology. I've published seven case studies and two articles about my teaching, and I'm part of a multi-institution NSF grant to investigate the effectiveness of clickers to teach cases in large introductory biology courses. I've also led a number of workshops about active learning methods, especially case studies.