I have been an educator for over 10 years - My teaching career started with early childhood and Montessori education and this background still influences the meaningful hands-on and field experiences I incorporate into my college classes.
Teaching Philosophy
What is storytelling in science? A common idea in the world of photography is that it is one thing to own a camera and post a picture, but it is another to tell a story and be able to connect with an audience. For example, 95 million photos and videos are shared every day on Instagram alone. As a science educator, my duty to reach students comes with the even greater challenge that Instagram is just one of the distractions to students today. So, how do I reach students, engage them, and make sure they are getting the course content that they need? In short, providing stories that are context to scientific knowledge. First, when I know what material will be covered in an assignment or class period, I choose a framework to place the content within. If the goal of that day is to cover the nitrogen cycle, I may start the class period discussing soil run-off and the impacts of excess nitrogen from fertilizers in water ways. Imagery of algal blooms such as that in the Gulf of Mexico and video interviews of people working in collapsed fisheries will allow students to connect their own backgrounds and values to a current issue.
Once the context is set, the second part of my teaching method is highly connected to current research in learning techniques and outcomes to create activities that students will remember and gain the most from. "Flipped classroom" activities, problem-based learning from resources like the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, and interactive segments like those offered HHMI BioInteractive are all emphasized in my course designs. Whenever possible, I include real world experiences such as field trips to the recycling center, lab periods held in the herbarium or local nature preserve, and presentations at research symposia. Active learning methods like these are shown to increase retention of material and excitement for science. It is my goal to stay abreast to research on educational pedagogy and continue to listen to student feedback to always be improving the techniques in my classes regardless of subject.
Once the context is set, the second part of my teaching method is highly connected to current research in learning techniques and outcomes to create activities that students will remember and gain the most from. "Flipped classroom" activities, problem-based learning from resources like the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, and interactive segments like those offered HHMI BioInteractive are all emphasized in my course designs. Whenever possible, I include real world experiences such as field trips to the recycling center, lab periods held in the herbarium or local nature preserve, and presentations at research symposia. Active learning methods like these are shown to increase retention of material and excitement for science. It is my goal to stay abreast to research on educational pedagogy and continue to listen to student feedback to always be improving the techniques in my classes regardless of subject.
University of Nevada, Reno
In 2019, as a part of the Natural Resources and Environmental Science Department I have instructed ENV 101 - Introduction to Environmental Science, NRES/GEOG 400 - International Issues in Water Development. In 2020, I will teach NRES 421 - Conservation Biology in the Spring semester and I will teach NRES/GEOG 400 again in the fall. Click the button below for more details on these courses and my goals in teaching them.
Truckee Meadows Community College
At TMCC, I have had the pleasure of teaching a diverse student body in courses in the Biology Department and Physical Sciences Department. In the multitude of courses I have taught over the years here, I have maintained my focus on case studies, field trips, and labs that move past cookie cutter activities to allow students to develop self-directed research projects. Click the button below to see my personal course descriptions.
University of Nevada, Reno - Teaching Assistant
During the first three years of my doctoral program, I was able to provide assistance in 6 different course with a wide-range of student levels. These courses were NRES 211 - Conservation, Humans, and Biodiversity, NRES 100 - Principles of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, two semesters of NRES 421/621 - Conservation Biology, NRES 412/CEE 411- Environmental Law, ENV 101 - Introduction to Environmental Science, and NRES 470/670 - Applied Population Ecology. In these classes I have played a variety of roles from lecturing, to working directly with students on individual and group term projects or papers, holding office hours to work on population modeling homework assignments, and leading lab sessions both in the field and in R.
Early Childhood Education - Outreach
Though my students are now undergraduates in college and my main focus is improving pedagogy in higher education, I still have a passion for working with young children and families. I regularly volunteer my time at free science outreach events through:
- - Nevada Bugs and Butterflies: https://nevadabugs.org/
- - University of Nevada, Reno Museum of Natural History: http://www.naturalhistory.unr.edu/
- - including annual events for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada
- - Tahoe Expedition Academy
- - And more! If you know of an event or organization in need of assistance, please reach out!
