Teaching

I am a passionate biologist holding a M.Sc. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Duke University. I earned a Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Certificate and an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate. Additionally, I have taken courses that are part of the Duke Certificate in College Teaching. I have broad research experience in biological and biomedical research across multiple areas and countries. My most recent area of research focused on elucidating the origin of invasive breast cancer utilizing mouse models and high-throughput technologies. I was an English instructor in Peru, where I created a personalized English program for underserved populations. As a college student, I was a teaching assistant for a large undergraduate class in Cell and Molecular Biology. I supported lab discussions and step-by-step experiments demonstrations. Furthermore, I have served as a research and academic mentor for many high-school students through various non-profit educational programs.

I was an English instructor in Peru. I created personalized in-person and online classes for underserved populations of teenagers and children. I based my teaching decisions on core professional values -equity, accessibility and student engagement- as well as techniques based on the scholarship of teaching and learning. I carefully designed learning experiences for each of my students according to their personal goals, English proficiency and progress. I designed a variety of materials to use during each class, such as interactive presentations and hands-on learning activities. I ensured that every session had a clear outline and goals. Additionally, I carefully chose written, visual, and audiovisual materials to explain the content from different perspectives, recognizing that each student has a unique learning style. 

Furthermore, I offered a variety of resources to improve students’ learning experience; for instance, I used English games to promote student engagement and allow them to test their comprehension in a fun environment. Also, I offered them the opportunity to practice what they had learned in the session with adaptive quizzes that included vocabulary and grammar structures that they have learned previously in class. My teaching style is student-centered; I designed specific student learning objectives (SLOs) throughout the course for each of them. I tailored the SLOs to inform my students what they would obtain from each session. This experience required flexibility and resilience as the learning path of each student is an adventure with unexpected discoveries. I adapted the SLOs throughout the time to meet the new needs of my students as they evolve.

Throughout every class, I constantly checked on my students to know if they were understanding and following the class. Also, at the end of each session, I asked for my students’ feedback and noted particular interests to incorporate into future lessons. I strongly believe that honest anonymous evaluations and feedback on my own teaching performance were very valuable to improve or change methods, classroom assessment techniques or how to deliver content to each of my students. At the end of the day, what drives my passion is that my students could feel motivated to learn, which I think relies on a good balance of feeling accomplished on the learning process with success but also having challenges to overcome during the process. Through planning, flexibility and reflection I always strive for my students to reach the student learning outcomes that are intended in the course.

Overall, I think that it could be challenging to know if all students are achieving their learning goals because everyone has unique learning paths and personalities. In my case, I evaluated if my students were achieving a diversity of learning goals through formative assessments. This type of evaluation gave me valuable information about their active learning process and allowed me to assess how each student evolves and learns during each session. I utilized fun, appealing and useful non-graded assessments and games as great resources to know my students’ level of comprehension, help them strengthen what they have learned, and understand how they are feeling in the classroom. Moreover, I had an open channel for questions and interactions in Google Classroom, which was very helpful for the students to express their questions and suggestions in a safe space. 

I am committed to promote a dynamic and inclusive environment for students.  In order to ensure that students feel included in my classroom I utilized different approaches. As a teaching assistant for a large undergraduate class, I oversaw supporting the professors and students during lab practices. I deeply promoted teamwork as it is an important soft skill formative activity, and it fosters inclusion in the classroom by allowing people to interact and connect in a deeper manner. I encouraged teams to rotate and get to work with different people in the laboratory throughout the semester. According to my experience, my efforts to promote teamwork improved the learning experiences of the students by feeling a sense of belonging and being included in a group. Also, it was essential to emphasize my presence and availability to anybody who wanted to talk if they were struggling academically or socially in our course. For example, I helped some students who were not feeling included, comfortable or motivated due to the lack of a culture of respect, inclusion and equity in a team or the general classroom.

I consider that a key part for me is being transparent and very specific through my syllabus and introductory class. Looking ahead, I would like to put this into practice in my next teaching opportunity, so my students know what to expect in each class and could be better prepared for learning and contributing to the classroom environment. Even though that might sound structured, showcasing flexibility is essential. I would like to develop and offer a variety of classroom assessment techniques for each session. I think this approach would give students freedom to choose a type of assessment, which could motivate them to learn more and perform in their own style. 

In summary, I am driven by my passion for teaching and mentoring. My ultimate goal is that my students could thrive and excel by creating unique learning opportunities and environments for each of them.