​
Rachel R. Harman, Ph.D.
_JPG.jpg)
Hi, I'm
Rachel Harman, PhD
I am a landscape, behavioral ecologist whose main research highlights how organisms react to disturbed landscapes.
Currently, I am a post-doctoral research associate working with Drs. Tania Kim and Brian McCornack at Kansas State University. With Dr. Kim, I am asking questions about cross-habitat movement, particularly through spillover. I am additionally working with Dr. McCornack on developing an online prof. dev. course for K-12 teachers about inquiry teaching.
This website is still in development, so please forgive any broken links or partially written pages.
Plant communities in fragmented forests
-
What landscape features of island biogeography affect plant communities the most?
​​
-
Does forest management influence plant community diversity?
​
-
Are the understory and overstory plant communities affected differently by forest fragmentation?
​
-
What makes a forest different from a stand of trees?
Harman, RR, AR De Leon, HM Lancaster, and JM Marshall. 2019. Relative influence of spatial and structural characteristics of forest fragments on woody plant communities. The Great Lakes Botanist 58, 32-56. (article)
Academic History
AS in Chemical Methods
BS in Biology Teaching
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
June 2012
MS in Biological Sciences
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
June 2014
Ph.D. in Biological Sciences
Louisiana State University
August 2020
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching is a major passion of mine.
​
I have a teaching degree and certificate for 5-12th grade life science. This puts me in a rare position to understand biology at many different levels of education - middle and high school as well as college.
​
I believe that active learning strategies are key, but lectures have their place in academia as well.
