Here are some of the goals I had for my first teaching stint, before joining the CIRTL program.

1. Translate aerosol and atmospheric science into learning that reaches students from across the STEM disciplines. Atmospheric science is interdisciplinary, drawing on physics, chemistry, mathematics, and the engineering sciences, and most students encounter it not as a major but as an elective or requirement within another STEM program, especially at the University of Arizona. Undergraduates in particular often meet this material before they have a settled disciplinary identity, and they bring uneven preparation in the underlying physics and chemistry. I wanted to learn how to bridge that gap by designing materials that meet students inside the conceptual frameworks they already know, while moving them into a multi-scale, uncertainty-rich reasoning that atmospheric science demands.

2. Learn and apply evidence-based, active-learning strategies in my own classroom. I came into the program with strong instincts about real-world data and interactive tools, but I wanted some training in evidence-based pedagogy which dealt with, how to design questions that surface misconceptions, how to scaffold inquiry, and how to make classroom time more than narrated slides. I also wanted to think carefully about how emerging tools like AI are reshaping what students bring into the classroom and what instructors can ask of them, so that I could integrate these tools into my teaching. I hoped to leave the program with a teaching repertoire I could justify with research rather than intuition alone.

3. Develop course design and teaching skills in a mentored setting. Designing instruction across multiple sessions, including assessments, projects, and the day-to-day choices about what to skip and what to dwell on, is a skill that cannot be learned in the abstract. I wanted hands-on practice in a co-teaching partnership where I could try, adjust, and be observed by a more experienced colleague before stepping into a faculty role of my own.