photo by Nicholle Snith'06

Tom Ayrsman '79

Associate Professor of Botany and Environmental Science; BA Antioch College; PhD, The Union Institute

"Tom's direction of class adheres to the Antioch ideal of self-improvement learning, with choices about what students want to focus on…His fieldtrips are planned but are also spontaneous to satisfy the current class." -Anne Fletcher '07

Ecological Agriculture: This course will focus on the science of ecological agriculture and the importance of understanding and comparing the current methodologies of agriculture with appropriate alternatives.

On the first day of class, Dr. Tom Ayrsman begins introducing himself. He shares his interests, a bit of his professional and personal history, and, in turn, he hopes his students will open up to learning. By the end of the first day of classes, Tom's students know that he believes passionately in experiential learning and that his classroom stretches far beyond the walls of the Science Building.

Tom Ayrsman began his work at Antioch as a student in 1970 and then came on as a full-time employee, technical director to the science programs, in 1977. He taught his first course in 1979 and, until the early 90s, continued to supplement the curriculum. "I had a variety of experiences leading field study trips as a part of courses for other faculty members. I traveled with the Environmental Field Program (EFP) many times and then my first real, full-time course was in the early 90s." In 1994, Tom helped to develop and lead the Antioch Education Abroad Brazil program.

Tom has found that field experiences make learning more memorable for him and his students. "I see that reflected in my student evaluations. Students often want more field experiences or just comment on how important they were to their learning." Tom does everything he can to incorporate the hands, minds, and senses of his students. He does this by getting them out of the classroom as much as possible. "Being a forest ecologist, we travel around to different state nature preserves and become very familiar with the differentiation of them." Tom is currently working on Woody Plant Floristics of Glen Helen-a book that captures the flowers of the forest in digital photographs alongside botanical descriptions. On days it is not possible to hold class outside, this project brings the forest into the classroom.

One of the basic premises of Tom's pedagogy is that he does not have all the answers. "I think every student brings important knowledge of some kind to the course. Tom hopes to foster a graduate-level approach to teaching. "I'm not spoon-feeding them knowledge, but we're all trying to learn new information together." His students challenge him to dig deeper, add new layers to classes and explore new perspectives.

Tom tries to incorporate students teaching students, as modeled by EFP, into his syllabi. He believes peer teaching adds a very important dimension to an Antioch education. "Antioch used to require its seniors to be teaching assistants and they used to actually teach classes. I've seen my students respond really well to this. My seniors have to come in and teach a class about their project." Tom feels that there is simply no better way to learn something than to teach someone else about it.

"The high point for me is getting up everyday to come to work at Antioch," Tom says. "I see Antioch as a real experiment in education and that's what I'm trying to do. Experiment with different ways of teaching and learning and trying to figure out this thing we call higher education."

What you might not know about Tom Ayrsman: Tom built his own ecologically friendly home.

by Rachel Moulton '97

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795 Livermore St. Yellow Springs, OH 45387 937-769-1000
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