Training: Duke University, Durham, NC
Classroom Experience: Duke University, Durham, NC
Classroom Experience: East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
Teaching Philosophy
I have been helping majors and non-majors learn biology and ecology for 10 years as a graduate teaching assistant, guest lecturer, and instructor of record. During this time, I have learned that the most important thing educators can do is help equip their students with the ability to think critically. I believe that the process of learning should reflect the scientific method—it involves constantly questioning your own knowledge as new information is available and working with others to discover that new information. I use a similar process myself as I gain teaching experience by reflecting on what went well and what did not, so that I can improve the courses I teach and ensure that students meet course learning objectives.
To facilitate the development of critical thinking skills, students in my courses participate in as many inquiry-based activities as possible. Each day, they work in small groups to solve problems. These problems range from constructing imaginary food webs to critiquing the primary literature on topics from human population growth to environmental toxicology. They work on these problems using information either presented in a short lecture or read ahead of time. This allows students to spend a substantial portion of in-class time testing their knowledge and getting feedback rather than only receiving new information.
Further, in lieu of a final exam, students in my classes usually work together to produce a final product, such as a grant proposal or short review paper. Students receive feedback along the way from me and from their peers. This allows students to engage with active areas of research, apply the information they have learned in class, and work together through peer review to create something of which they can be proud. In my experience, students challenge themselves more and retain more information when they can share ownership of something they have created.
Another way in which I aim to help increase students’ retention of information is by encouraging them to identify course concepts in everyday life. We often discuss current research and popular coverage of that research. Students compare and contrast what the authors of the original article and the authors of the news article chose to highlight. This breaks down the barriers between students and what they may initially view as a world that is only accessible to professional scientists. Ultimately, I aim to help my students see science as belonging to everyone and being a crucial part of successful societies.
To ensure that students in my classes are meeting the learning objectives and that the activities in which they are participating actually help them meet those objectives, I use a combination of formative and summative assessment. Students’ final grades are determined more by working with information presented in class than by their abilities to memorize that information. In addition to group assignments, examples of individual assignments that I use to assess student performance include short essays based on concepts learned in class or material read outside of class as well as the creation of concept maps. I also track students’ progress and the effectiveness of my teaching by having them write memos in which they describe a previously covered topic in their own words, share their thoughts on a controversial topic, or describe points of confusion. This allows me to determine whether we need to revisit topics. For many of these assignments, I also offer students the opportunity to earn back missed points by re-submitting assignments. This gives students a chance to try again, and I find that it helps students retain information by recognizing and correcting their mistakes.
I learn just as much from my students as they do from me and from each other, and I use the information they provide through course evaluations and their memos to improve my performance as an instructor. I also encourage them to tell me how they think the course is going. For example, in a previous course that I designed and taught (Bio 190), I polled my students in class to see whether they thought the daily reflection memos were manageable, and the majority of students felt overwhelmed by them. I realized that having to write these memos for every meeting of a course that met five days per week was an unnecessary burden, so I cut back the number they were required to submit. This led to a marked improvement in the quality of the memos that they submitted. As another example of my commitment to improving the effectiveness of the courses I teach, I had the students in that same course take an assessment before and after the course to determine its effectiveness. For the most part, students' understanding of basic ecological and evolutionary concepts improved, but there were some concepts by which most students were still confused. Thus, in future installments of this course, I will focus on these concepts to ensure that students gain a better understanding of them.
- Certificate in College Teaching (CCT) Program
Classroom Experience: Duke University, Durham, NC
- People, Plants, and Pollution (BIO 262), Fall 2017, Teaching Assistant
- The Ecology of Humans (BIO 190), Summer 2016, Instructor of Record
- Genetics and Evolution (BIO 202), Spring 2016, Teaching Assistant/Lab Instructor
- Gene x Environment Interactions (BIO 453), Spring 2015, Guest Lecturer: "Evolution of Phenotypic Plasticity"
- Plant Systematics and Evolution (BIO 342), Spring 2013, Teaching Assistant/Lab Instructor
- Organismal Diversity (BIO 206), Fall 2012, Teaching Assistant/Lab Instructor
Classroom Experience: East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
- General Ecology (BIO 2251), Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Teaching Assistant/Lab Instructor
- Principles of Biology II (BIO 1201), Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Teaching Assistant/Lab Instructor
Teaching Philosophy
I have been helping majors and non-majors learn biology and ecology for 10 years as a graduate teaching assistant, guest lecturer, and instructor of record. During this time, I have learned that the most important thing educators can do is help equip their students with the ability to think critically. I believe that the process of learning should reflect the scientific method—it involves constantly questioning your own knowledge as new information is available and working with others to discover that new information. I use a similar process myself as I gain teaching experience by reflecting on what went well and what did not, so that I can improve the courses I teach and ensure that students meet course learning objectives.
To facilitate the development of critical thinking skills, students in my courses participate in as many inquiry-based activities as possible. Each day, they work in small groups to solve problems. These problems range from constructing imaginary food webs to critiquing the primary literature on topics from human population growth to environmental toxicology. They work on these problems using information either presented in a short lecture or read ahead of time. This allows students to spend a substantial portion of in-class time testing their knowledge and getting feedback rather than only receiving new information.
Further, in lieu of a final exam, students in my classes usually work together to produce a final product, such as a grant proposal or short review paper. Students receive feedback along the way from me and from their peers. This allows students to engage with active areas of research, apply the information they have learned in class, and work together through peer review to create something of which they can be proud. In my experience, students challenge themselves more and retain more information when they can share ownership of something they have created.
Another way in which I aim to help increase students’ retention of information is by encouraging them to identify course concepts in everyday life. We often discuss current research and popular coverage of that research. Students compare and contrast what the authors of the original article and the authors of the news article chose to highlight. This breaks down the barriers between students and what they may initially view as a world that is only accessible to professional scientists. Ultimately, I aim to help my students see science as belonging to everyone and being a crucial part of successful societies.
To ensure that students in my classes are meeting the learning objectives and that the activities in which they are participating actually help them meet those objectives, I use a combination of formative and summative assessment. Students’ final grades are determined more by working with information presented in class than by their abilities to memorize that information. In addition to group assignments, examples of individual assignments that I use to assess student performance include short essays based on concepts learned in class or material read outside of class as well as the creation of concept maps. I also track students’ progress and the effectiveness of my teaching by having them write memos in which they describe a previously covered topic in their own words, share their thoughts on a controversial topic, or describe points of confusion. This allows me to determine whether we need to revisit topics. For many of these assignments, I also offer students the opportunity to earn back missed points by re-submitting assignments. This gives students a chance to try again, and I find that it helps students retain information by recognizing and correcting their mistakes.
I learn just as much from my students as they do from me and from each other, and I use the information they provide through course evaluations and their memos to improve my performance as an instructor. I also encourage them to tell me how they think the course is going. For example, in a previous course that I designed and taught (Bio 190), I polled my students in class to see whether they thought the daily reflection memos were manageable, and the majority of students felt overwhelmed by them. I realized that having to write these memos for every meeting of a course that met five days per week was an unnecessary burden, so I cut back the number they were required to submit. This led to a marked improvement in the quality of the memos that they submitted. As another example of my commitment to improving the effectiveness of the courses I teach, I had the students in that same course take an assessment before and after the course to determine its effectiveness. For the most part, students' understanding of basic ecological and evolutionary concepts improved, but there were some concepts by which most students were still confused. Thus, in future installments of this course, I will focus on these concepts to ensure that students gain a better understanding of them.