Teaching as Inquiry

Over time, I have become increasingly interested in how students and postgraduates learn to observe, reason, interpret evidence, and make decisions in plant pathology.

For me, teaching is not only about helping students remember concepts, but about helping them begin to think like plant pathologists. This means learning how to look closely, ask better questions, connect theory with field realities, and explain plant disease problems clearly and meaningfully.

Much of my teaching work is shaped by this question: how do we help students move from knowing about plant disease to reasoning through plant disease problems?

In my own teaching, I am especially interested in disease epidemiology, field-based reasoning, scientific communication, and the development of student confidence in reading, writing, interpreting, and explaining scientific information.

Some of the approaches I am currently exploring include structured article discussions, practical portfolio activities, producer-focused concept notes, and reflective learning tasks. These are all ways of helping students practise the habits of thinking, communicating, and decision-making that are central to plant pathology.