UTSC biology professor Maydianne Andrade’s subjects are serious about mating strategies. Think suicidal, cannibalistic strategies.
Internationally recognized for her studies on the extreme mating patterns of the Australian redback spider, Professor Andrade is one of six U of T finalists in TVO’s Top Lecturers Competition.
Her lecture, one of the last in the five-part series, will air at 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Andrade’s Animal Behaviours class is often attention-grabbing.
“There was joking that talking about sex gives you a leg up, but I think [the subject of sex] is really important if you are talking about the evolution of animal behaviours and animal social patterns. It’s sort of the currency of evolution in determining what traits get passed on and which don’t.”
Over the last 10 years, the prevalence of nature shows on television has raised students’ expectations for entertainment and high-tech teaching aids, she said.
“The students really appreciate if they can actually see the animal in some sort of way like through full colour pictures and it’s much easier to change Powerpoint to include relevant studies and other examples.”
Lectures on multiple types of reproductive systems can easily become overwhelming, so Andrade often uses human examples to pique students’ interest.
“[Wednesday] we talked about how dancing might be a signal of genetic qualities. That makes it really fun for the class.”
To relate class material to her students, Andrade takes it one step further.
“I introduce some personal elements because of the female mentoring aspect, since I am a female, young academic and I think it does benefit the students. My husband [UTSC professor Andrew Mason], when he talked about infant development he showed an ultrasound of our daughter, and when I discussed sickle-cell anemia, I mention how it’s carried in some members of my family and how in Canada it’s rare, which leads into talks about migration and so on. I feel like they get bored with some previous examples and this brings a different kind of perspective.”
Andrade’s work won acclaim, such as Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10,” Cornell University’s Robert H. Whittaker Award for biology presentation in graduate studies, and a spot on Maclean’s 2006 Honour Roll. This recognition is particularly meaningful to her.
“The huge difference here is that [the focus] is on teaching and not research. To know that students have a good feeling about what you’re trying to accomplish is really wonderful.”
