Teaching

Teaching Experience and Philosophy

I have been the instructor of record for introductory, calculus-based mechanics at Drexel (Physics 101), where I used Modeling Instruction. At Cornell, I was a graduate teaching assistant for both laboratory and discussion sections of introductory physics for four semesters.

My teaching centers around:

(1) developing students' critical thinking skills, such that students are able to decide for themselves what to do and what to conclude when presented with data and models,

(2) implementing research-based instructional practices, such as inquiry-based labs, clicker questions, and computer simulations, and

(3) cultivating a classroom environment that supports all learners, for example by broadening the set of peers with whom students' collaborate.

135 out of the 154 students who have evaluated my teaching have rated my instruction as a 4 or 5 out of 5. A representative sample of written evaluations from my students is provided below.

Modeling Instruction classroom at Drexel.

In Modeling Instruction lectures:

"I really enjoyed the whiteboard activities, which allowed everyone to engage and bounce ideas off each other.'"

-- (Fall 2025, PHYS 101, Drexel)

"I like how the professors encourage participation and they are quite humorous and memorable."

-- (Fall 2025, PHYS 101, Drexel)

"I liked the more demonstrative and active learning aspect of this course, the use of simulations and practical examples to teach and display concepts was very helpful.'"

-- (Fall 2025, PHYS 101, Drexel)

In inquiry-based labs:

"When asking questions, she gave us answers that were not just simply 'here's how you do it,' but rather 'here's how you should think about it.'"

-- (Spring 2022, PHYS 1110 Lab, Cornell)

"She was always very excited and encouraging and would help us improve our experimenting skills and give us feedback on our experimental design and approach."

-- (Spring 2020, PHYS 1112 Lab, Cornell)

"Meagan is very helpful during labs and outside of labs: I do not hesitate to ask her a question on how to conduct a lab, and she provides helpful suggestions on how to improve the procedures my group came up with, so that we can reduce human error and uncertainties."

-- (Fall 2019, PHYS 1112 Lab, Cornell)

"Meagan was wonderful. She checked in often, explained things very well, and always graded fairly to help us improve."

-- (Spring 2020, PHYS 1112 Lab, Cornell)

"A very welcoming person, who is always open to provides helps for her students."

-- (Spring 2020, PHYS 1112 Lab, Cornell)

In discussion sections:

"Meagan was very willing to clear up any points of confusion experienced by the students; the discussion sections were overall very useful in clarifying concepts learnt in class."

-- (Fall 2020, PHYS 1116 Discussion, Cornell)

"Meagan is really helpful and kind, and gives me the impression that she really wants us to succeed."

-- (Fall 2020, PHYS 1116 Discussion, Cornell)

"Excellent TA. Practice material was genuinely extremely helpful in preparing for exams and understanding content."

-- (Fall 2020, PHYS 1116 Discussion, Cornell)

"This was my favorite discussion and I felt really comfortable asking questions about stuff I did not understand. I will probably miss this section the most."

-- (Fall 2020, PHYS 1116 Discussion, Cornell)