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My name is Bob Tallitsch and I am a professor in the Biology Department here at Augustana College. I also serve as a faculty member in the Asian Studies Program. I earned the B.A. in biology from North Central College, and the Ph.D. in physiology  with an anatomy minor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I then joined the Augustana faculty at the ripe old age of 24.
As a faculty member at Augustana I have several roles. First and foremost among these is the role of teacher. Although my teaching philosophy is multi-faceted, the poem (on the left column) sums it up best. I love what I do, and I love the students I teach. First and foremost I want the students in my classes to succeed, both inside and outside the classroom. I am concerned about them as students, and as people. Learning is a two-way process: students learn from the teacher, and the teacher learns from the students. The purpose of teaching is to instill in all students a genuine, loving, lifelong eagerness to learn, and to foster a life of continual growth and development. Good teaching should encourage and assist students in developing the basic values needed for learning and living: self-discipline, self-worth, integrity, honesty, commitment, perseverance, responsibility, pursuit of excellent, emotional courage, creativity, imagination, humility, and compassion for others.
I try to accomplish all of these things in each and every course I teach at Augustana. During the fall tri-semester I teach Human Anatomy ; in the winter, Human Anatomy and Neuroanatomy ; and in the spring Histology and Kinesiology or Traditional Chinese Medicine on an alternating-year basis.
In addition to my role as teacher, I also try to pursue the role of learner. Currently my academic interests center around several areas :
* Problem-Based Learning: For the past fifteen or so years I have been teaching most of my courses on a modified PBL-format. Problem-based learning (PBL) is both a curriculum and a process that helps the student acquire the skills needed for critical knowledge acquisition, problem solving proficiency, self-directed learning strategies, and good team participation. The process replicates the commonly used systemic approach to resolving problems or meeting challenges that are encountered in life and career.
* Writing: During my tenure at Augustana I have published several articles and textbooks. I have recently published two new texts: Human Anatomy (6th Edition) with Ric Martini and Mike Timmons, published by Benjamin Cummings, and Histology: An Identification Manual (1st Edition) with Ron Guastaferri (B.A., M.A.M.S.), who is an Augustana alumnus and a former student of mine. This text is published by Elsevier Publishing.
* Writing PBL Problems: In addition to my textbook writing I am also involved in writing and publishing PBL problems that I utilize in my classes here at Augustana. Currently nineteen of my problems have been published by the PBL Clearinghouse , and another four are in various stages of editorial review.
* Traditional Chinese Medicine: Recently my research interests have centered upon Traditional Chinese Medicine in ancient and modern China, with particular emphasis upon Qigong, a form of meditative healing. During the fall term of the 2004-2005 academic year I taught Traditional Chinese Medicine on our East Asia Term Abroad. The China portion of our term abroad took us to Taipei Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, and Guangzhou, Guilin, Wuhan, Suzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an, Yan'an, Lyoyang, Zhengzhou, Chengde and Beijing within the mainland of the PRC. I also taught on the China portion of several previous academic terms abroad during my time here at Augustana. Last summer (2007) I traveled once again to China. My travels took me to Beijing, Kumnimg, Zongdian, Lhasa, (the capital of Tibet), and Hong Kong. During my time in Lhasa I made initial contacts for my upcoming sabbatical, during which I hope to study in Lhasa and do a comparative study of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Tibetan medicine. During the summer of 2005 I traveled to China as part of an academic seminar. My travels and studies took me to Shanghai, Chengdu, Emei Mountain, Kunming, Dali, Lijang and Nanjing. During a large part of my sabbatical in the spring of the 2002-2003 academic year I served as a Visiting Foreign Expert and Senior Professor in the Department of Physiology, College of Biological Sciences, at Central China Normal University in Wuhan, PRC.
My address, telephone number, FAX number, and e-mail address are listed here (on the left column). Click here to download a copy of my CV (requires Microsoft Word).
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