Faculty Professional Excellence Recipient is ‘Constantly Learning’

DECATUR, Ga.--Walk into Heather Zimbler-DeLorenzo’s Decatur Campus biology classroom and chances are you’ll hear the cacophonous sound of crickets—those nighttime insects whose music is part of summer nights in the South. Besides hearing the insects, you’ll see her students studying the invertebrates’ behavior in class.

The crickets are easier to bring into any classroom—rather than the mammals of her doctoral research—which were squirrel monkeys, she said. But there is a connection in learning animal/insect behaviors, which was the key to the lesson, she said. Plus, crickets are easier to handle than monkeys, she said.

“We were trying to find an invertebrate organism that students can observe behaviors without worry,” she said.

Bringing crickets into the classroom as a teaching tool is just one reason the biology assistant professor was awarded the 2022-23 Professional Excellence Award.  A biology professor for more than a decade, and at Perimeter for more than two years, Zimbler-DeLorenzo has already made her mark at the college, bringing her love for teaching and learning to both her students and her peers.

“I love teaching. And love learning myself and learning new concepts and teaching methods,” she said. Teaching biology to non-science majors often means her students come into her class unsure of the subject matter or why they’re in her class in the first place. She sets to change that mindset.

“My teaching philosophy is that I want to make science fun and engaging. I want my students to ultimately take away something that can be useful in some kind of way in their life.”

Zimbler-DeLorenzo is a regular presenter at the National Association for Biology Teachers and the National Science Teaching Association, (bringing the cricket study to that group through videos.) She is always looking for opportunities to share methodologies and activities with her fellow instructors; most recently she was co-editor of the second edition of the classroom text, Animal Behavior in the Laboratory and Field, which includes more than 20 activities exploring animal behavior for use in the classroom. “I don’t lecture in my classes; I use a lot of hands-on activities and case studies in the classroom.”

She also is a participant in active learning herself, teaming up with fellow Decatur science instructor Christine Patrum and University Assistantship Program (UAP) honors student researchers to study the microbiomes of the pitcher plants located in the GSU’s Perimeter College Native Plant Botanical Garden versus plants found in bogs in South Georgia. (Her UAP students went to South Georgia to collect samples.) The instructors are now designing class and lab activities based on their findings.

As a child—and into adulthood-- Zimbler-DeLorenzo wanted to work with animals as a research conservationist at a zoo. She pursued that passion as an undergraduate at Emory University, where she became a double major in biology and biology anthropology studying the evolution of primates. “I got to work with well-known animal behaviorists and psychologists at Emory,” she said.

But her career path changed dramatically when she started pursuing her Ph.D. at Auburn University. In between her work at the university, she began teaching as an adjunct instructor at a local community college. “I never thought about teaching until then. and found I really enjoyed it—and I really loved the mentoring aspect as well.”

This month, she brings her love of teaching outside the classroom and is one of several Perimeter College professors who will be leading an Atlanta Science Festival program. Her topic: Investigation Awaits!

Story by Rebecca Rakoczy

Photo by Bill Roa