My role as a teacher is to provide students with opportunities to develop, practice, and apply fundamental skills to real-world problems, and in doing so help them see value in data-driven storytelling.
Interacting with students in the classroom is one of my favorite parts of being a scientist. Exploring biological concepts, and exchanging stories of how these concepts intersect with our own lives can be challenging and fun. In addition to teaching general biology, plant ecology, and animal behavior, I'm interested in developing courses for students to explore highly-modified novel ecosystems. Feel free to check out the UW-Madison Novel Ecosystems IGERT webpage.
In 2019, I led a workshop to train UW-Madison Communication B TA's. We focused on strategies to help teach undergraduates how to write an effect scientific introduction. You are welcome to use/adapt my workshop materials if you find them helpful (credit is appreciated).
Throughout my career, I have taught a wide range of courses:
Internships in Ecology (UW-Madison)
Created a new course for students to identify and apply for internships in ecology. Course included opportunities for professional development, as well as skills needed in a variety of ecological careers, such as reading primary literature, networking with conservation professionals, and writing small grant proposals
Evolution, Ecology, & Genetics (UW-Madison)
Honors biology course for sophomores that provided an in-depth exploration of evolution, ecology, and genetics with an emphasis on experimental design, group work and feedback, and scientific writing. Responsibilities included designing activities for discussion, facilitating labs, and providing feedback on lab reports and presentations.
Behavioral Ecology (UW-Madison)
Course for advanced biology majors that investigated how and why organisms adjust their behavior to dynamic environments, as well as experimental design and contemporary conservation issues. Responsibilities included leading small-group discussion of primary literature and designing exams.
Introduction to Biology I & II (UW-Madison)
Survey course for first- and second-year biology majors that broadly covered genetics, cellular/molecular biology, animal anatomy/physiology, plant anatomy/physiology, evolution, and ecology. Responsibilities included leading small-group discussions of lecture content, facilitating labs, guiding independent research projects, and designing exams.
Field Botany (Miami University)
Course for non-majors that explored the diversity of plants found around campus and the importance of plant diversity for society. Responsibilities included syllabus and lecture development, organizing field trips, and designing exams. I also led an effort to develop a new field guide that was tailored to course learning objectives that is now in use. Feel free to check out the introduction here.
Introduction to Biology (Miami University)
Survey course for first-year biology majors that broadly covered the genetics, cellular/molecular biology, animal anatomy/physiology. Responsibilities included facilitating lab sections.
Plants, Humanity and the Environment (Miami University)
Course for non-majors that covered the relationships between plant physiology, agriculture, and human society, as well as conservation issue. Responsibilities included leading small-group discussions of lecture content and designing exams.
In 2019, I led a workshop to train UW-Madison Communication B TA's. We focused on strategies to help teach undergraduates how to write an effect scientific introduction. You are welcome to use/adapt my workshop materials if you find them helpful (credit is appreciated).
Throughout my career, I have taught a wide range of courses:
Internships in Ecology (UW-Madison)
Created a new course for students to identify and apply for internships in ecology. Course included opportunities for professional development, as well as skills needed in a variety of ecological careers, such as reading primary literature, networking with conservation professionals, and writing small grant proposals
Evolution, Ecology, & Genetics (UW-Madison)
Honors biology course for sophomores that provided an in-depth exploration of evolution, ecology, and genetics with an emphasis on experimental design, group work and feedback, and scientific writing. Responsibilities included designing activities for discussion, facilitating labs, and providing feedback on lab reports and presentations.
Behavioral Ecology (UW-Madison)
Course for advanced biology majors that investigated how and why organisms adjust their behavior to dynamic environments, as well as experimental design and contemporary conservation issues. Responsibilities included leading small-group discussion of primary literature and designing exams.
Introduction to Biology I & II (UW-Madison)
Survey course for first- and second-year biology majors that broadly covered genetics, cellular/molecular biology, animal anatomy/physiology, plant anatomy/physiology, evolution, and ecology. Responsibilities included leading small-group discussions of lecture content, facilitating labs, guiding independent research projects, and designing exams.
Field Botany (Miami University)
Course for non-majors that explored the diversity of plants found around campus and the importance of plant diversity for society. Responsibilities included syllabus and lecture development, organizing field trips, and designing exams. I also led an effort to develop a new field guide that was tailored to course learning objectives that is now in use. Feel free to check out the introduction here.
Introduction to Biology (Miami University)
Survey course for first-year biology majors that broadly covered the genetics, cellular/molecular biology, animal anatomy/physiology. Responsibilities included facilitating lab sections.
Plants, Humanity and the Environment (Miami University)
Course for non-majors that covered the relationships between plant physiology, agriculture, and human society, as well as conservation issue. Responsibilities included leading small-group discussions of lecture content and designing exams.