Teaching
My teaching experience spans introductory through upper-level biology courses, as well as organic chemistry. At Kansas State University, I have taught Principles of Biology, Organismic Biology, Ornithology, and Evolution, including lectures, laboratory and field instruction, curriculum design, and hands-on support during active-learning laboratory and coding assignments. I have also volunteered as an instructor in Applied Field Methods, teaching students bird banding and handling techniques at Konza's long-term research station. As an undergraduate, I served as a teaching assistant for Organic Chemistry for three semesters.
A major focus of my teaching is making material accessible through concrete examples and multiple explanations. When designing lectures, I often work backwards from common sources of confusion.
Teaching Philosophy
I find that students who immediately do well tend to have one or both of two advantages: a strong background in the material or well-developed strategies for learning the material. Differences in prior preparation and study skills can easily be mistaken for differences in ability. Students' high school preparation and insights about how they learn can be conflated with underlying potential, especially for students who have had fewer opportunities.
At the beginning of each semester, I encourage students to reach out to me not only when they are struggling with course content, but also when they want help figuring out how to study. I particularly enjoy helping students develop strategies for approaching difficult material and finding ways of studying that work for them.
More than anything, I want students to recognize that learning how to learn is part of the scientific process.
Teaching Effectiveness
Across courses, students have consistently rated my teaching highly:
Evolution: 4.8/5 overall effectiveness, with an adjusted rating of 5.0/5 (top 10% of comparable K-State courses). Students rated my clarity of explanation 4.8/5 and helpful feedback 4.9/5.
Ornithology: 4.7/5 overall effectiveness and 4.8/5 for increasing students' desire to learn; overall effectiveness, desire to learn, and amount learned all ranked in the top 10% before adjustment.
Organismic Biology: 4.4/5 overall effectiveness, with 4.6/5 ratings for explaining material clearly, stimulating student thinking, providing helpful feedback, and recognizing when students did not understand.
Principles of Biology: 4.5/5 overall effectiveness, with an adjusted rating of 4.7/5 (top 10%).
In Students’ Words: Course Evaluations
“She is a strong ‘science communicator’ and is excellent at articulating complex ideas in the field of biology to students learning the material for the first time.”
— Evolution student
“I’d love to hear her lecture more!”
— Evolution student
“When she taught, I actually paid attention and wanted to know what we were learning.”
— Principles of Biology student
“She was really good at seeing when students didn't understand an idea and rewording the material into something that made more sense.”
— Principles of Biology student
“I just felt like I understood the material a lot better when Kristen took over.”
— Principles of Biology student
“She didn't just read off what the PowerPoint said, she also gave us different ways to think about and understand the material.”
— Organismic Biology student
“Kristen did a great job at explaining the lab material, especially the harder anatomical information.”
— Ornithology student