Supervision & teaching

Postgraduate supervision of research projects by Archer has been carried out in almost all fields of vertebrate palaeontology (most taxonomic groups), stratigraphy, palaeoecology and biocorrelation.

Since 1978, he has supervised 1 Graduate Diploma research project, 3 Masters Qualifying research projects, more than 28 Honours projects, 1 Masters research project & more than 35 Doctoral research projects.

Postgraduate supervision of projects focused on living animals included field ecology of small desert marsupials, molecular systematics of Miniopterus, morphological systematics of Nyctophilus, electrophoretic and morphological systematics of Antechinus, phylogenetic systematics of New Guinean dasyurids, functional dental morphology, feeding behaviours of dasyurids, kangaroo systematics, basicranial functional morphology, forest ecology of bat guilds, and snake and bird phylogenetic systematics. In addition, he occasionally cosupervises research students in other universities. All except three students who have completed or are about to complete degrees under his supervision have obtained jobs. Those who do not have permanent jobs are successful consultants. He currently supervises (2004) three Honours students and 10 PhD students.

Undergraduate teaching has been broad-based and sustained since 1978 and includes central roles in developing and delivering courses at UNSW in First Year Biology, First Year Geology, First Year Sociology (relatively small part), second year Invertebrates Course, Systematics Course, General Ecology Course, third year Mammalogy Course, third year Vertebrate Zoogeography and Evolution Course, Arid Zone Biology Course, First Year Optometry, fourth year Honours Course. Regular lectures have also been given at the University of Sydney (Mammal Biology Course; Postgraduate Seminar Program in Dentistry), Macquarie University (Human Evolution), LaTrobe University (Marsupial Biology Course), the University of Melbourne (Mammalogy) and James Cook University (Conservation Biology). While employed as Director of the Australian Museum, he maintained my UNSW teaching in First Year Biology, First Year Geology, First Year Optometry, Third Year Arid Zone Biology and collaborated to produce a new course in Palaeontology for 2004. 

Mike Archer also regularly (several times a year) teaches and promotes science in high schools in New South Wales and other states, and participates in science communication courses run by the ABC and other media groups and institutions.

As a measure of teaching competence, every year since he taught First Year Biology in the 1970s, he has consistently been ranked by students far above other lecturers in the course in terms of all measured criteria. His third year courses have always been ranked very highly. And many Honours students have received First Class, with at least one receiving a University Medal. Many students have gone on to illustrious careers (although not always in science) such as Tim Flannery (scientist, author etc.), Paul Willis (scientist, ABC Science Unit), Kerry Nettle (Greens Senator), Walter Boles (Curator of Birds, Australian Museum), Ken Aplin (CSIRO senior researcher), Scott Hocknull (Young Australian of the Year). Common denominators in the success of most are the skills they have also picked up in science communication.

When faced with new courses, in the past he has written text books specifically for the purpose because none available were appropriate. That was the origin of the large and rapidly sold-out text Vertebrate Zoogeography & Evolution in Australasia which is now about to appear, under a different title with changed content and added editors.