Teaching 

Teaching Appointments

Fall 2022 GTA: ESS 474 (Limnology)                                                                                                                      

Spring 2021    GTA: WR 204 (Sustainable Watersheds)                                                                                                                       

Fall 2020         Online course develop (CSU course number: NCT-CFPD 101-202) for CSU Online (WR 204)         

Fall 2020         Co-Instructor: WR 304 (Sustainable Watersheds)                                                                                                    

Fall 2020         GTA (Awarded Fellowship): ECOL 505 (Foundations of Ecology)                                                                      

Spring 2020       GTA: ESS 330 (Quantitative Reasoning)                                                                                                 

Fall 2019         GTA: WR 304 (Sustainable Watersheds)                                                                                                                    

Spring 2019    GTA: BZ/ESS 474 (Limnology)                                                                                                                                     

Fall 2018         WR 304 (Sustainable Watersheds)                                                                                      

Spring 2018    GTA: ESS 330 (Quantitative Reasoning)          

Philosophy

My goal is to foster curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, and confidence in my students. To ensure that every student has the opportunity to be successful in my class, I am committed to understanding how the necessary tools for success vary from student to student. I have actively worked to increase my familiarity with evidenced-based best practices for engagement, instruction, feedback, and assessment. I have completed a Graduate Teaching Certificate, worked with instructional designers while developing online courses, and regularly attend pedagogy seminars. One tractable way I have found to develop curriculums that meet such standards is by following the core tenants of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). These clearly defined metrics have been critical in creating a classroom culture that promotes success for all students.

As educators, it is crucial that we acknowledge that students, especially at the onset of their undergraduate education, come from varying degrees of academic preparedness and have not all been granted the same academic advantages. These differences in students’ academic backgrounds and preparations will only become more apparent in coming years as we work with students whose foundational education has been shaped differently by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, UDL is one tool to first acknowledge the scope of needs within a class and then make every reasonable effort to understand and respond accordingly to those needs.

Teaching and mentoring experience

I have served as a teaching assistant and co-instructor for lecture-based courses and lab sections during in-person, online, and hybrid semesters. I have taught Sustainable Watersheds and Quantitative Reasoning (lower-level undergraduate courses with >100 students), Limnology (upper-level undergraduate course with <20 students), and Foundations of Ecology (first-year graduate level course), totaling nine courses across eight semesters. I redesigned courses to accommodate the transition to an online platform, designed co-curricular coding assignments in R, and sought collaborations to produce a series of online ‘virtual field trips’ in lieu of hands-on field activities during exclusively online semesters. These types of audio-visual recordings are also one example of UDL informed diversified instruction which complement lectures, hands-on learning opportunities, Socratic-style discussion, and reflective reading exercises.

To increase the quantitative analytical skills of my students, I developed a series of R-based coding assignments for Limnology. Throughout the semester, students analyzed data they collected (including laboratory and field measurements) and synthesized larger publicly available datasets from local and state agencies. I look forward to continuing to incorporate foundational coding tools and quantitative analysis in future courses as appropriate to subject matter and course level. I will also use code sharing platforms (such as Github and Codeshare) to allow students to further develop not only practical coding skills but also their collaboration skills at all stages of hypothesis-driven study design and research. Code sharing platforms also allow me to provide more frequent and consistent feedback (a key component of UDL. In addition to honing students’ analytical skills, I aim to design courses that include a strong focus on written communication and the development of writing skills. Not only does this allow for more diverse methods of assessment, but effective communication is also important preparation for students interested in a broad range of careers.

Outside of the classroom, I have served as a mentor through Colorado State University’s Multicultural Undergraduate Research Art and Leadership Symposium (MURALS), Skills for Undergraduates Participating in Ecological Research (SUPER), and UTurn programs. In UTurn, I mentored students who were struggling academically in one-on-one settings to discuss strategies for getting on track for a successful semester. Participating in UTurn helped me to develop a greater understanding of the types of challenges students face and how to empower them to meet their academic goals. Through MURALS and SUPER, I worked with undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups in STEM and gained tools for supporting students working to complete degrees in their second language. I also gained experience fostering collaboration within a neurodiverse lab group. Two strategies, taken from UDL, which were particularly useful in supporting diverse students within our lab were clearly posted and defined tasks and goals, and flexible presentation options, such as the use of PowerPoints, ‘chalk talks’, or written reports to share research progress.

Prioritizing safety in the classroom

My class is a safe space for students. I want them to feel safe to show up as their authentic selves, knowing that my class is a place where their individual identities and the intersectionality inherent in each of us is something to celebrate. One way I try to support my students is by scheduling major assessments with regards to possible conflicts, such as religious fasts and other faith-based commitments. In the past, I have use the Williams College Multifaith Religious Holiday calendar for reference. As there are many more holidays, holy days, festivals, and ceremonies than I could prepare for as well as unplanned life events, I strive to create a classroom culture where students feel comfortable discussing classroom conflicts, such as those related to their faith and bereavement. I also provide a 72-hour no questions asked late assignment policy that students can use throughout the semester. This is one way I demonstrate to my students that I will always prioritize their mental health and the sustainable and fulfilling pursuit of understanding and knowledge over rigid performance metrics. 

Incorporating social justice

An important element of fostering a safe space for my students is actively working towards a classroom culture that is avowedly antiracist, inclusive, and cognizant of social justice issues. One way I do this is by providing historical context to the subject matter in my class, such as Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons and the lasting impacts of prior-appropriation water rights on Indigenous communities. I engage students in discussions on contemporary social justice issues related to course content and encourage students to suggest additional topics, issues, and perspectives I may have missed.  

To balance the long history of dominant identities in the field, I introduce my students to work by diverse authors, practitioners, and data producers, and discuss environmental justice topics such as open data practices and data sovereignty. I challenge my students to think critically about the issues discussed in class and to be cautious of narratives told only from the viewpoint of dominant identities. I also engage students in conversations regarding workplace safety, including invited presentations from The Fieldwork Initiative, an organization which works to educate and provide support on issues related to gendered and identity-based violence in fieldwork. Similarly, I have advocated to make funding available for basic first aid and Swiftwater training courses for students participating in field courses and conducting fieldwork in remote areas. In environmental science and related fields, it is important that we acknowledge the effect of the Nature Gap on who finds and feels at home in our discipline. While discussions like those led by The Fieldwork Initiative, safety trainings, and access to proper gear will not correct for a history of inequal access to nature and environmental injustices or safeguard against every possible threat and prejudice, it can be an important tool for increasing participation of historically marginalized identities.