Teaching Philosophy

When I was an undergraduate student, I had an excellent Botany professor who was passionate about teaching. I still remember parts of her well designed, organized, and visually striking lectures about botanical physiology and morphology. It was this professor who originally got me interested in research and I eventually ended up writing a research proposal with her to do botanical research the following summer. This kicked off my undergraduate research career, which would eventually lead me to do research in mycology, climate change, chemical ecology, and invasion biology, among other topics. In the senior year of my undergraduate training, I would apply for a research fellowship from the National Science Foundation, which was funded successfully. This fellowship is the only reason why I am currently a graduate student at the University of Nevada Reno in the program of Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology. Without this fellowship, I would not have had the funding to come here as a PhD student.

As a teacher, it is my goal to convey the principles of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology in a way that will make undergraduate students passionate about the subject, in the same way I became passionate about Botany as a freshman college student. I hope to inspire them to eventually become researchers, or at the very least, have some intellectual curiosity about evolutionary and ecological processes.

As a graduate student, I have taught two classes at the University of Nevada. The first class I taught was Biology for Non-Majors (BIO 100); I taught this class for three semesters total. The second class I taught was Evolutionary Biology (BIO 415/615). I have been teaching this class for five semesters and have recently been promoted to “Head TA” for this class. Both of these classes have helped my hone my teaching skills. Biology for Non-Majors helped me to learn how to cater to a broader audience and make biological more accessible to a non-expert crowd. Evolutionary Biology has helped me learn how to distill incredibly complex concepts down to manageable chunks that undergraduate students can digest, while still maintaining their interest and engagement.

Goals for Student Learning

My first goal for student learning is that students demonstrate mastery of the content. For example, when I teach my students about how antibiotic resistance evolves in bacteria, I want them to able to remember how this process happens during the midterm. However, I also want them to master this content so that when they go to medical school and eventually become doctors, they will still remember how this process works. My second goal for student learning is that students become effective public speakers. Public speaking is an extremely important skill for life after college, which is why I require my students to present a paper from the scientific literature every semester. My third goal for student learning is engagement. I want my students to be interested in the material that I present to them, and I want my students to also be engaged with the material that is presented by their fellow classmates. I also want them to be engaged with the scientific community in broader society, even after they graduate.

Teaching Methods

In the classroom, I use mostly activity-based learning including but not limited to group discussions, group presentations, and workshops. These discussions pertain mostly to discussing papers from the scientific literature, as well as concepts learned from course lectures. Group presentations involve groups of 4-5 students summarizing a published paper from the scientific literature (using a PowerPoint presentation), and then leading discussion for the class for the remainder of class. Workshops involve groups of 4-5 students collaborating on an assignment relevant to the course material, such as Population Genetics or Phylogenetic Analysis. When necessary, I will also present short lectures on course material during weeks where we are doing exam review. I strive to keep these lectures engaging by asking questions during lecture, using visually striking examples, and giving them sample questions from previous exams.

I provide my students various resources to ensure their success. For example, before they must present their group presentation, I present an example presentation and lead discussion myself so they can see the structure of this assignment. For written assignments, I provide them example documents so that they can see what a well-written example looks like. I also provide them with a grading rubric for written assignments in addition to exams. That way, they can see what they missed and make corrections on future assignments and exams.

Measuring Student Learning

In addition to analyzing grades, I also seek feedback from my students to see whether or not I need to adjust my teaching style. This feedback comes in the form of teaching evaluations after the course is finished, but also happens during the course through anonymous surveys and through conversations I have with my students during my weekly office hours. I also consult with other teaching assistants throughout the semester to see what challenges they are having, so that we can strategize together how to improve the course and ensure student success. Last semester, I was nominated for and successfully won the award for Outstanding Biology Teaching Assistant from the College of Science, which I hope is a reflection that my teaching methods have been somewhat successful. Overall, my teaching evaluations have been positive, with one student recently emailing me this message: “You have been by far the greatest TA I have ever had. Thank you.”

Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment

It is very important to me that my classroom is an inclusive learning environment. I have a zero-tolerance policy for bigoted language in my classroom and also require my students to treat each other with respect during discussions. I am very aware that science, historically, has not been free from bias and am constantly on the lookout for the introductions of various biases in the scientific literature. Unfortunately, evolutionary biology has an ugly history in this regard, so I think modern evolutionary biologists must work extra hard to ensure our field roots out and actively fights against bigotry, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and various other biases.