Embedded Files
Meet Your Instructor
Meet Your Instructor
Whether in an online, hyflex, hybrid, or grounded classes, it is critical to have regular substantive interaction between students and the instructor. An important initial step to accomplish this is to introduce yourself to students. It's important for students to not only learn about the instructor professionally, but also get a glimpse into their personality. Regardless of the course modality, I include a page in my Canvas start here module entitled, "Meet Your Instructor" and a discussion post with a video introduction to one of my personal interests. I also invite students to post in the same discussion forum an introduction of themselves along with comments on each other's posts. I continue to foster relationships with this forum by welcoming each student and commenting on every student post. This initial connection lays the groundwork for building community in any of my classes.
I would like to begin this section of the portfolio by introducing myself the way I introduce myself to my students. I'm sharing my Instructor Video from my BIOL& 242 class and my "Meet your instructor" questions and answers so you can get to know me personally and professionally like my students do. I invite you to share this student experience to get to know me by watching the embedded video and selecting the collapsible questions to learn more.
Q: How long have you been teaching at Edmonds College?
Q: How long have you been teaching at Edmonds College?
A: I started teaching in 2007 and came to Edmonds College in 2008 as an associate faculty in the biology department. In 2019 I spent a year as a temporary full time instructor before being hired as a full time tenure track faculty member at Edmonds in the biology department.
Q: What's your educational background?
Q: What's your educational background?
A: I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from Texas A&M University (Gig 'em Aggies!) in 1997 and a PhD in Cell Regulation in 2004 from UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. I did research on insulin secretion as a graduate student and in neurobiology as a post-doctoral fellow at UW. You can read my graduate thesis here: CHARACTERIZATION OF THE FXYD PROTEIN FAMILY IN THE REGULATION OF INSULIN EXOCYTOSIS
Q: What's your favorite part of teaching?
Q: What's your favorite part of teaching?
A: I genuinely enjoy teaching biology and discussing with students the complexities of the human body, not just because the subject matter is fascinating, but also because it allows me to reach students on a personal level when we discuss the real-world applications of anatomy and physiology. Getting students passionate about biology so that they become life-long learners or even engage in careers in healthcare or biology is a rewarding part of the connections we make with students as instructors.
Q: What is your experience with medicine/healthcare?
Q: What is your experience with medicine/healthcare?
A: Aside from the classes I took in college, I have always found medicine very interesting and originally planned to become a doctor. However, when I was a in high school, I volunteered in the emergency room as an admitting clerk (and later worked in that as a job) and realized I didn't like patients, but I loved the science of medicine. I even did a brief stint as a phlebotomist during that time. (Which was just on the job training at that time, and is crazy to think I didn't take any classes or have a license to do that then.). So, I switched gears in college and decided to go into research instead. I have also taught anatomy & physiology since I started teaching in 2007.
Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of class?
Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of class?
A: I enjoy spending time with my family and our cat, Mushi. I have two sons (one is 20 and the other is 16 years old) one who plays baseball at Seattle University, whom I like to watch play and the other I enjoy baking cookies with. I also enjoy watching baseball, but I am a Phillies fan, not a Mariners fan. I also like to do scrap booking, ancestry research, and baking.
In the next parts of the Getting to Know Me section of this portfolio, you will learn more about my professional credentials in my curriculum vitae, my personal statement, and self-reflection on my tenure process including future goals as a full-time faculty member at Edmonds College.
To learn more about me, select the buttons below.
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