Teaching Philosophy

I challenge students to develop an understanding of the scientific process and think critically about scientific concepts, research, and claims. Making these gains is essential both for developing scientists and informed, proactive citizens.
​My teaching emphasizes active, cooperative, and inquiry learning, and I encourage students to learn from each other.
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Teaching and learning requires building bridges in many ways:
between concepts, from class content to everyday life, between teachers and students, and among students.

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Data-driven, active learning lessons on climate change and sustainability

​I adapted and developed lessons that strengthened students' skills in quantitative literacy and critical thinking through a
​national faculty mentoring network with
QUBES (Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis) and
​InTeGrate (Interdisciplinary Teaching about Earth for a Sustainable Future). 

My teaching materials and reflections:
- Climate Change
- Ocean Sustainability
- Environmental Justice
​Expand "A Unit-by-Unit breakdown of How I Taught this Module"
​to access slides and handouts.

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College courses taught

• Biostatistics
• Advanced Biostatistics (grad)
• Principles in Ecology
• Biological Inquiry & Analysis  
• Saving Planet Earth                       
• Behavioral Ecology
• Evolution of Behavior
• Ecology Lab
• Human & Animal Relationships 
• Organisms & Populations Lab
• Introductory Biology Lab

Having fun measuring tree competition!

​Teaching certificate

I earned a teaching certificate through the Delta Program at UW-Madison.

I conducted a teaching-as-research project to examine how to improve undergraduate skills in reading primary scientific literature. In brief, students benefit from engaging in discussion and using strategies that structure their reading.

You can read about this teaching-as-research project and reflections on my teaching here.

Courses & Workshops

I took 4 graduate-level courses:

• Diversity in the College Classroom
• Teaching Online with Technology
• Research Mentor Training
• Informal Science Education 

I have participated in 12 workshops with emphasis on active learning, inclusivity, and effective use of student groups and teams.

K-12 education

As a NSF GK-12 Teaching Fellow, I worked with K-12 students and teachers, scientists, and science educators to develop science inquiry lessons in K-12 classrooms and strengthen my science communication skills.
  
Here are some of my favorite lessons:

• Geeked about beaks (Evolution in a changing environment using Darwin's finches)
• How seeds get around (Seed dispersal adaptations)
• Survivor (How predator vision affects prey survival)

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I also developed Data Nuggets, which guide K-12 students to interpret real scientific data and make claims using evidence.

​Here are my Data Nuggets on
​female mate choice and male competition in stickleback fish.

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