Russell Garwood

Learning resources

At Manchester I coordinate and deliver the majority of the second year teaching in palaeobiology and evolution for our earth and environmental science degrees. This material was rewritten in 2020 for COVID, and has been delivered since using a blended learning approach. I have made these materials freely available online, and you can explore them in the learning resources subsite. In brief, they comprise over twenty websites, combining videos, quizzes, 3D models, virtual microscopes, and other learning materials on topics surrounding evolution, fossils, and ancient life.

In person teaching

In addition to courses on palaeobiology and evolution, I teach on field courses with a focus on structural geology, igneous rocks, and mapping for second-year students (EART20300). I also give small group tutorials, and help deliver or assess on a number of further modules. I currently contribute to the following course units:

• EART10050 — Year 1 Tutorials: Geosciences
• EART11100 — Understanding the Earth
• EART20300 — Field Courses — Scotland
• EART20070 — Year 2 Tutorials: Geography/Geology
• EART22101 — Evolution and Paleobiology
• EART30000 — Independent Mapping / Independent project
• EART30300 — Independent Project (Environmental sciences)
• EART30882 — Advances in Palaeobiology
• EART40000 — Independent project

My teaching also includes the supervision of MEarthSci and MPhil projects, and PhD students.

During my time at Imperial College as a PhD student, I conducted between 6 and 15 hours a week teaching as a graduate teaching assistant for the following modules:

• 2.09 — Life And Earth History
• 2.16 — Structural Geology I
• 2.27 — Surface Processes
• 3.11 — Palaeontology
• 3.16 — Structural Geology II
• 3.23 — Computer Skills for Geologists
• 4.14 — Structural Geology III
• 4.22 — Computer Programming
• 5.17 — Palaeobiology

Also at whilst Imperial, I: lectured on abiogenesis and early evolution for the fourth-year module Palaeobiology (5.17) and evolution for the first-year course Dynamic Earth (2.03); coordinated all Earth Science undergraduate demonstrating for an academic year; and was awarded Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year: Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College, 2011. I've helped teach 3 field trips a year since 2007, which included the Imperial College trips:

• 2.05 — Introduction to Field Geology – Charnwood & Dorset
• 3.25 — Field Geology III – Kinlochleven, Scotland
• 4.03 — Field Geology IV – Sardinia (including reconnaissance work and establishing the scientific programme of the trip)
• 4.24 — Independent Mapping – Assynt, Scotland (student supervision)

Training

I regularly give software-training courses in Palaeoware packages (SPIERS, REvoSim, TREvoSim), as well as Blender, and Drishti. This has included the following institutions: the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin; Zoologische Staatssammlung, München; the University of Manchester; Natural History Museum, London; University College, London; the University of Bristol; Swansea University; University of Leicester; and Imperial College, London.

Outreach

As well as my research-led teaching, I contribute to events and give talks with the aim of explaining my science to a wider audience. I regularly give accessible talks to audiences with diverse backgrounds and experience; examples include regular Nature Live events at the Natural History Museum, London, and over 70 talks to prospective students at Imperial College and the University of Manchester, to organisations such as geology clubs and societies, and to A-level geology students. Furthermore, I also participate in public-outreach events. These include: regular stalls at Science Uncovered evenings at the NHM; events at the Birmingham Lapworth Museum and Manchester Museum; Manchester's DinoZone at the Cheltenham Science Festival, which had more than 13,000 visitors over the course of a week; and twice for the Royal Society's Summer of Science event. I have been featured in a Natural Environment Research Council podcast, and my research has appeared in publications including The Times, The Independent, the BBC news website, New Scientist and The New York Times — links are above. You can find information on written and other related outreach work on my journalism page.