Hello, my name is Bob Remedi and I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to teach here at College of Lake County since May of 2002. I have a Master's Degree in Biology and a Bachelor's Degree in Biology Education, both from Western Illinois University. I have taught a variety of different courses at a number of different schools, but while at CLC, I have been focusing on Anatomy and Physiology and Environmental Biology during the Fall and Spring semesters, and a field class where we hike part of the Appalachian Trail, in Southwestern Virginia during the summer.
Most of my graduate work involved wetlands, so I spend as much free time as I can, photographing and exploring them. But most of my time recently has been focused on a new type of critter (pictured above) that I have been blessed to do research on and with.
Teaching Philosophy / Expectations of Students
The word education is taken form the Latin word “educare” which means to lead or to guide. As a Biology Instructor, I attempt to lead students through the fascinating world of biology and share with them the aspects of the science that I find so interesting. I have found that preparing an outline of important material on PowerPoint slides allows me to deliver the most important material consistently to each class. It also gives me the flexibility to assess student comprehension by asking questions and using the students' answers to lead them through the rest of the information. The two-way communication that this teaching style promotes, allows students to participate in the lesson and gain confidence developing their problem solving skills. I find that students appreciate this teaching style since it gives them the ability to contribute to the class while stimulating their desire to learn more.
I believe that biology is an extremely interesting field of study and I will try to keep things from being dry or dull. My classes are set up in a way that will challenge students to think critically and not just "parrot" back answers. In order to be successful in class, students must have good reading skills and must be able to commit time to reading and studying every day. Students are especially encouraged to find a group of people with which to study regularly. A general rule of thumb is that for every hour spent in the classroom, at least two hours should be spent reading the text and studying. An important questions that I ask my students is if they willing to make this type of commitment in order to be successful. While my classes are meant to be challenging, they are set up so that a student who doesn't miss class and sets up an effective, consistent study program should do well. To make sure that this is the case, I strongly encourage students to talk to me if they have any questions or would like some extra help. I will always make time to assist a student who is having some difficulty, just ask me. I can be reached in my office, C145 at my regular office hours, at (847) 543-2326 or remedi@clcillinois.edu.
I take pride in the fact that many of my students have succeeded in understanding the information presented in my classroom. However, I take consolation in knowing that those who have not applied themselves have also learned a different yet equally important lesson. Those students learned that they must take responsibility for themselves and their studies if they want to succeed.