Teaching

Dr. Streby's primary teaching philosophy is to inspire critical thinking. He believes it is a fundamental responsibility of scientists to not only study and discover, but to communicate our knowledge in a way that inspires the generation of scientists that will follow us. He believes that this entails much more than the dissemination of facts in hopes that the best students can regurgitate those facts on exams. Students should leave Dr. Streby's classes with the skills necessary to find and critically analyze new scientific information on their own. Dr. Streby has developed a reputation as an open and honest communicator with students and colleagues (students and most of his colleagues appreciate it).

Prior to teaching at UToledo, Dr. Streby had experience as an instructor of record and as a graduate teaching assistant in upper-level undergraduate courses. He was the teaching assistant and laboratory instructor for Ornithology for three years at Ohio University, where he was also a teaching assistant for Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy. He was a teaching assistant for Principles of Wildlife Management at the University of Minnesota, and then independently instructed that course the following year. He has also given guest lectures and filled in for instructors in several courses at Ohio University, University of Minnesota, and University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Streby expanded his understanding and philosophy of teaching in the Preparing Future Faculty program at the University of Minnesota and has enjoyed developing additional undergraduate and graduate level courses and seminars as a professor.

Since Fall 2022, Dr. Streby has been the coordinator of teaching and research at the University of Toledo's Stranahan Arboretum. In that time, he has acquired funding and installed a classroom in the Arboretum's barn, and an outdoor classroom amphitheater on the Arboretum grounds. From Fall 2023 through Fall 2025, the Arboretum has hosted >1,500 UToledo students in 14 courses (many sections), and research activity at the Arboretum has increased by nearly $1,000,000.