Teaching

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”   -Benjamin Franklin

Courses I have taught: co-teaching Bioinformatics (Fall 2021), Marine Science, Environmental Studies, Microbiology, Microbiology laboratory, Genetics laboratory, Introductory biology, mini-course in marine biology

Other courses that I am able to teach: Invertebrate biology, Marine Microbiology

Teaching philosophy:

Students, at any level, learn most effectively when they are actively engaged in the material. Moreover, students often need to be specifically challenged to work through a presented concept rather than simply incorporating the lecture material as their new view. I have experienced this paradigm as a student and that experience has encouraged me work to address this issue as a teacher and mentor. Creating an environment where effective learning can occur; one where students are given the space, time, and appropriate prompts, is central to allow students to work through new material. It can be difficult, however, to both foster this environment and accomplish the class content goals. To address this, the pedagogy that underlies my teaching style is that I am there to facilitate students’ personal development of concepts through the use of active learning-based approaches.

Teaching competency statement, originally developed as part of my cognate in college teaching at the University of New Hampshire:

Teaching competencies are focal points on teaching and learning and here I highlight the competencies that I use to implement my teaching philosophy.  These include: 1) articulation of appropriate course goals and objectives, 2) use of varied teaching methods that appeal to the various learning styles of students, and 3) incorporation of the latest scholarship in my field or discipline into my teaching.

Articulation of appropriate course goals and objectives

One of the most important parts in organizing and leading a class that will create a positive environment for student learning is to articulate appropriate course goals and objectives. I use three methods to explain and remind students of the course goals: I write the course goals clearly in the syllabus, I list specific learning outcomes for each section of content written on the course moodle site, and I discuss these in class multiple times during the course. For example, in my Environmental Studies class, we have three debates where the class debates “controversial” topics (e.g., human-driven climate change), and following these activities I discuss the relevant content goals and the broader goals of navigating scientific literature and online sources with the class.

I also make it clear what I expect from the students during the class and what they can expect from me. I let them know that I am here to help them learn and work with them to improve their writing and presentation skills.  To accomplish this, I will provide them with feedback on assignments and it is to their advantage to discuss this feedback with me. I also expect them to participate in discussions rather than passively sit in class and I lead in setting a tone of an open and friendly environment. I encourage them to ask questions or come to me with questions and concerns about their grades or about the class. Additionally, specific to the laboratories, I remind them that what we do in laboratory is relevant to lecture and vice versa, and they should be working to incorporate the two in their understanding of the material.

Use of diverse teaching methods that appeal to the various learning styles of students

While evidence from research in learning and education has shown that the learning process is effectively the same for all people, there are differences in personal experience and personality that can play a role in how students relate to class material. When I first began teaching laboratories as a graduate student, I tried to engage students in my lectures by asking questions during and after the lecture. Since then, I have incorporated several methods for more effectively engaging students.

One method I use in all of my classes, regardless of size, is “think-pair-share”. In a small class someone may raise their hand when I ask a question, but in a large class this is unlikely, so I have them think about the question for ~15 seconds, then have them discuss the question with other students, then I ask for feedback and give time for discussion. It is not uncommon for the majority of the class time to be spent on questions and discussions rather than me lecturing. These techniques have proved useful and effective in engaging students in the material and evoking participation in the active learning process in lectures and laboratories. As an example of this process in microbiology laboratory, I asked the student to think about how they would visualize the data we collected on carbon metabolism, then paired students at their benches before we discussed this. We then decided as a class how to plot the data – arriving at bar charts with error bars and discussing the pros and cons of other approaches.

In my lecture classes, I use some different approaches to engage students depending on the course. For example, in my non-majors introductory biology course, I regularly include either a demonstration or an online video that I think will capture their interest before I get into the topic. I also included clickers in the biology class, asking questions in the beginning to refresh their memory on previous material and throughout the course to assess understanding. This allowed me to specifically address concepts that students were having difficulty understanding. In my environmental studies class, which is smaller, I use informal writing to assess the level of understanding on a topic or engage them in a new topic. For example, I have them draw or write about the nitrogen cycle before we start discussing it to challenge them on the topic first. I also have students research and then debate in class current “controversial” issues that relate to class (climate change, GMOs, energy). These debates have been particularly effective in engaging students in the scientific literature and I generally see students struggle in the first debate to articulate and thoroughly research their points, then it shifts to where students cite evidence from peer-reviewed journals to support their argument or critique of other arguments in the next two debates.

Lastly, and most recently, I incorporated Twitter into my environmental studies course, providing an avenue for sourcing and discussing material relevant to the course and in a forum that students are generally familiar with.

Incorporation of the latest scholarship in your field or discipline into your teaching

In all of my classes I incorporate the scientific literature into the course, but the extent and style varies depending on the class. In my non-major’s class I use scientific magazines such as National Geographic and Scientific American, but I also show them the original research article that is the foundation for the magazine article. In major’s classes, I use both scientific news or magazines and primary research and scientific review articles for reading assignments and class discussion topics. In these classes, I use recent (within 3 years and add at least one new article each semester) scientific literature to engage students in the course content and discuss current research in the field. To do this effectively, I have reduced the time that I spend lecturing for the topic and allow more time to work through the paper as a class. While I cannot cover as much material, I have found that students gain a better understanding of the content that we do cover and are able to navigate the literature better on their own after we work together in class. Lastly, whenever possible I invite guest lecturers, typically colleagues of mine that are visiting or willing to video conference with my students to talk about their research or careers.

Summary

Learning is an iterative process where students construct ideas and concepts based on previous knowledge. I see my role in the learning process as being a facilitator to help students build important concepts from class material, minimize misconceptions, and gain important life skills such as critical evaluation methods in the process. To accomplish this, I utilize clearly articulated goals for the course, and various teaching methods to engage students in the learning process regardless of class size.  If I can effectively engage students in learning the scientific process of investigating, analyzing, and constructing ideas in all aspects of their life, then I know that I am successfully developing my role as a facilitator in science education and having a positive impact on student learning.