Teaching

Teaching Philosophy  

My most successful teaching experiences all shared these common things: my students were actively engaged in their learning and assessment, the material felt valuable to them outside of that particular course, and I made a strong effort to accommodate the needs of my diverse students. 

As an educator, I aim to achieve these things in my classrooms. Unfortunately, introductory earth science courses often involve extensive memorization of terms and can often feel irrelevant to students. To make the process of learning more exciting and accessible to students of all learning styles and upbringings, I have developed my teaching approach to incorporate a variety of active learning strategies. I stress a student-centered learning environment that is designed to facilitate effective note taking in a fun way.  This means that every 15-20 minutes, learning is turned back to them through student demonstrations, paired discussions, class pole assessments, sketching, 1-minute papers, or quick calculations – ensuring their engagement and improving student learning. Outside the classroom, weekly homework reaffirms concepts learned in class and teaches introductions to simple topics before each module. I give students ample time (or if online, multiple attempts) to complete their assignments. This lets the students improve their grades at their own pace, putting them in control of their education. I find that this is particularly helpful for busy, commuting, and first year students.

 
  Scroll down for a few activity examples! 

Teaching Interests  

⚪️  Planetary Science  ⚪️  Intro Geoscience Courses  ⚪️  Geomorphology  ⚪️  Geophysics  ⚪️  GIS  ⚪️  Space Exploration  ⚪️  Field Courses  ⚪️   Science Communication ⚪️  Physical Systems in Earth and Space Science ⚪️  Earth's History ⚪️  Astronomy

Teaching Experience 

2019   Lecturer, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

      SCIENCE 3303 - Earth’s History (1 semester)

Developed a new syllabus for Earth’s History focusing on building critical thinking skills and a solid foundation in the earth sciences using an engaging active learning environment. I divided this combined lab-lecture course for art students into three units: 

1) The Formation and Composition of the Earth 2) Active Processes on Earth 3) Geologic Time and the Evolution of Life.

2013 – 2018   Guest Lecturer, University of Illinois at Chicago

Multiple guest lectures for >130 student (EAES 111) and ~60 student (NATS 105) Introductory lecture courses and < 20 student senior-level undergraduate courses (EAES 444, 470) using lectures that I developed with a focus on active learning.

2012 – 2018   Teaching Assistant, University of Illinois at Chicago

EAES 111 – Earth, Energy, and the Environment (7 semesters)
EAES 101 – Global Environmental Change (1 semester)
NATS 105 – Physical Systems in Earth and Space Science (2 semesters)

EAES 444 – Geophysics (1 semester)
EAES 470 – Environmental Geomorphology (1 semester)

Independently ran laboratory sections, improved and created new laboratory exercises, developed online pre-lab and homework assignments, graded student work, wrote exam questions, led field trips, and helped train graduate students.

2017 – 2018   Course Preparation Teaching Assistant, Chicago Geopaths Program

Assisted in the preparation of a new program for underrepresented high school students. I created the website and helped plan the field trip and course activities.

2010 - 2012   Teaching Assistant, UC Santa Cruz COSMOS Summer Program

Lectured on astrophysics topics, mentored high school students, assisted them during remote telescope observing and with their research projects for 3 summers.