Biography

jeff cubs I am originally from the Chicago area, but attended middle school and high school in the east bay. I currently live in San Francisco with my wife and two sons. I love hanging out with my boys, playing/watching basketball and baseball, thinking about what tattoos to get next, and enjoying the diversity of people, cultures, and experiences in the bay area.

For college, I temporarily left northern California to go to UCLA. There I earned degrees in marine biology and music (saxophone performance). While at UCLA, and in between undergraduate and graduate school, I worked on various research projects relating to marine ecology and terrestrial habitat restoration. I completed my graduate research in biology at SFSU. My work dealt with speciation in marine fishes, and specifically the genetics of diamond turbot (flatfish) populations from California and Mexico. As a grad student, I also spent scuba diving a large amount of time studying issues in science education through the Science Education Partnership and Assessment Laboratory (SEPAL) at SFSU. Since graduate school, I have taught general biology, human biology, and anatomy/physiology at Skyline College, College of Marin, Laney College, De Anza College, and Foothill. Among other activities, during that time I have worked on multiple projects focused on issues of equity and inclusion in the classroom, helped re-write general biology and human biology lab curricula, taught in learning communities involving biology and language arts students, published and presented papers in the field of biology education research, and worked with faculty and administrators across the state on course articulation and transfer pathways. In 2014, I was interviewed for a series of professional development videos on active learning. You can see clips from my interview as part of the video here.

Most recently, I designed and piloted Foothill's first service learning course in the biology department - Learners Engaged in Advocating for Diversity in Science. I then led the creation of a new certificate in Bio-Health Diversity & Inclusion leadership, which is now available to Foothill students.

I love studying biology and learning about how students perceive the subject. Teaching biology allows me to continually advance my knowledge and apply that knowledge in new situations. By working with students, I get to explore many different perspectives on the nature of science and the relevance of biology to all people's lives!

Courses Taught

Human Anatomy & Physiology (Bio 40 Series), Foothill College
Learners Engaged in Advocating for Diversity in Science (Bio 81), Foothill College
Human Biology (Bio 11), De Anza College
Body Language (Bio 11/EWRT 1A Learning Community), De Anza College
Human Anatomy & Physiology (Bio 40 Series), De Anza College
Body Language (Bio 11/Spch 10 Learning Community), De Anza College
Form & Function in the Biological World (Bio 6A), De Anza College
Principles of Biology (Bio 110), Skyline College
Basic Human Anatomy & Physiology (Bio 24), Laney College
Introduction to Biology (Bio 10), Laney College
Principles of Biology (Bio 11), Laney College
Introduction to Biology Lab (Bio 110L), College of Marin

Education

B.S. in Marine Biology (UCLA)
B.A. in Music - Saxophone Performance (UCLA)
M.S. in Ecology & Systematic Biology (SFSU)

National Awards

2018 Recipient: Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teaching Award. Society for College Science Teachers.

Papers, Presentations, & Books

Featured Talks, Plenaries, and Interviews

In Science Education

In Biology

Schinske J., Bernardi G., Jacobs D., and E. Routman. 2010. Phylogeography of the diamond turbot (Hypsopsetta guttulata) across the Baja California Peninsula. Marine Biology. 157(1): 123-134.
Schinske J. 2008. Why fish stop mating: speciation in the Pacific Ocean. Science in Action Speaker Series. Skyline College. April 3, 2008.
Schinske J. 2007. Phylogeography of the diamond turbot (Hypsopsetta guttulata). SFSU Department of Biology Master's Thesis.
Schinske J. and E. Routman. 2007. Incipient speciation in the diamond turbot (Hypsopsetta guttulata). SFSU College of Science and Engineering Student Project Showcase.
Schinske J. and S. Cohen. 2006. Ah receptor sequence variation from shiner surfperch (Cymatogaster aggregata) populations in polychlorinated biphenyl contaminated and reference sites around San Francisco Bay. NorCal SETAC Annual Convention. Davis, CA.
Anderson S., Schinske J., and J. Kluse. 2002. The relative importance of grazing and topography on oak performance since 1928. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting Abstracts. 87: 65.
Anderson S., Kluse J., Launer A., J. Schinske. 2002. The value of conducting restorations as explicit experiments. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting Abstracts. 87:64-65.
Schinske J. and G. Forrester. 2000. Sex change of the protogynous Caribbean reef fish, Coryphopterus glaucofraenum, in the field. UCLA Undergraduate Science Journal. 13: 110-114.
Rii S., Schinske J., and M. Rosales. 2000. Effects of habitat features and predation on distributions of mudflat clams. Bodega Marine Lab Student Reports, MBQ 2000.
Schinske J. 2000. Effects of the macroalgae, Ulva, on the relative distributions of two mudflat bivalve congeners and their dead shell material. Bodega Marine Lab Student Reports, MBQ 2000
Rosales M, Schinske J., and S. Rii. 2000. Use of PIT tags on the rocky intertidal fish Cebidichthys violaceus towards the establishment of a long-term study. Bodega Marine Lab Student Reports, MBQ 2000.