Teaching Philosophy
Earth Science education gives students the opportunity to learn about the natural world. It also provides a means of developing a deep understanding of some of the most important global issues of today including, but not limited to climate change, air and water pollution, ocean acidification, and sea level rise. While the topics I teach may vary with the course, my role as an educator is to ensure that, regardless of whether students in my classroom pursue a career in the Earth Sciences, they will leave with the ability to act as well-informed citizens and think critically and scientifically about the processes that shape our planet.
I have sought training to improve my teaching abilities both at the higher education level (Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching; GCCUT) and at the secondary education level (B.S.Ed. in Chemistry, and Earth and Space Science). Through these certification programs, I engaged with educational theory, learned practical methods for effective teaching, developed my own educational materials, and taught in the classroom. While teaching in higher education differs from teaching in middle or high school setting, both experiences underscored the need for carefully considered curriculum that centers on facilitating student learning rather than simply transferring knowledge from teacher to student.
In order to develop a student-centered teaching practice, my goals as an educator are to:
1.
Foster an inclusive classroom environment.
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2.
Use active learning and critical thinking to engage students in the learning process.
3.
Continuously refine and enhance my teaching practices
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1. Creating an inclusive classroom environment
As a queer woman in science, I have experienced and witnessed implicit bias, micro- and macro-aggressions, and institutional inequity first-hand. Recognizing my privilege as a white scientist, I am committed to amplifying historically excluded voices and actively contributing to the dismantling socially unjust systems.
To this end, I have and continue to seek educational programming to enhance my ability to foster an inclusive classroom through active engagement in professional development workshops and seminars. Recently I earned a certificate from AGU’s Leadership Academy and Network for Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences (LANDInG), a two-year professional development program designed to build leadership in DEI through engagement with DEI leaders, community building, and development of evidence-based practices for engaging in culturally relevant teaching, navigating through cultural difference, and active discussion of the cultural biases that operate in science fields.
Towards the application of what I have learned, I acted as a mentor and teacher for Oregon State University’s (OSU), Leading and Enabling Adolescent Futures in STEM (LEAFS) program, which aims to increase inclusivity and diversity of STEM fields by engaging Oregon youths with disabilities. I mentored three undergraduate engineering students in developing a curriculum on ocean acidification and its impacts on oysters, which are vital to Oregon’s economy and coastal health. While designing the curriculum, of top importance was ensuring each activity planned was well thought out and provided scaffolding and options for interaction, allowing students to access the information in a variety of ways. Hands-on activities and the use of the scientific method gave students an opportunity to see themselves as scientists and engage with some of the most important issues facing our globe.
To supplement my GCCUT coursework, I enrolled in GRAD 542: The Inclusive Classroom: Difference, Power, and Discrimination (DPD). As part of this course, I began developing a DPD class: Natural Resources, Economics and Environmental Justice, whose goal is to examine the interplay between natural resource extraction and use within the context of economic, political, and societal factors that control access to these resources. This course is one I would like to develop in full or in part (e.g., incorporate as part of existing courses) during my teaching duties in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department.
2. Engaging students in active learning and
critical thinking
While the teacher plays a key role in facilitating student learning, acting as the sole expert and provider of knowledge can lead students to engage less with the content and become passive receivers of information. Use of active learning strategies allows students to interact with material and create a deeper understanding of course content.
Even when lectures are used in my classroom, I incorporate small group discussions, short activities, or hands-on examples to help highlight key points. While I was the teaching assistant for GEO 431/531: Advanced Environmental Geochemistry, I created a lesson examining ice cores as environmental archives of lead pollution. During this lesson, I incorporated two small group activities in which students examined figures from a peer-reviewed paper and worked together to draw conclusions. When students had finished, each group acted as teachers to the rest of the class, explaining their answers and facilitating discussion around the different interpretations developed by other groups.
When possible, I incorporate experiential learning, through engagement in laboratory exercises, field trips and field courses. Helping students begin to think like scientists and engage in the scientific method fosters a sense of ownership over their learning and facilitates development of transferrable skills. As a teacher I have facilitated laboratory experiments, led field trips, and helped students learn field techniques including sediment core sampling, stream flow analysis, water quality monitoring, and CTD measurements.
Critical thinking plays a key role in helping students take ownership of their learning. Student engagement with primary literature, observational practice and interpretation of findings is necessary for students to better understand and engage thoughtfully with the broader world. As the instructor for GEOG 322 Into the Storm: Severe Weather and Society at the University of Nevada Reno, I guided students in the development of hazard mitigation plans on a selected weather-related hazard in a region of their choice. Over the course of the term students submitted a proposal and three successively detailed drafts of their paper. The project was highly interdisciplinary, asking students to engage with primary literature to understand the science behind their chosen hazard, the exposure pathways and vulnerabilities of their population, and define mitigation strategies that would be feasible in their region.
3. Steps to improve teaching practice
As an educator I continually work to improve my teaching. Towards this goal I have sought out professional development opportunities to learn about best practices and strategies for teaching online and in large classroom environments. I have also worked to incorporate student feedback into my teaching through examination of student teaching evaluations.
While teaching the upper-level writing course GEOG 323: Climatology, I enhanced my feedback approach on term papers, shifting from in-line edits to focusing on students abstracts, discussions, and use of figures. This change improved both the quality of their work and their perception of my engagement with their learning in evaluations. I also noticed an improvement in students’ final term papers both in the overall writing quality and the critical thinking shown in their interpretation of climate data.
My goals as an educator are to create a student-centered environment where students actively engage with and inform the course content while building confidence and skills in making evidence-based conclusions. Introducing students to Earth Science in a deep, meaningful way creates opportunities for students to understand the world around them. These connections and the understanding of what influences and shapes our world create scientists and citizens who are well informed and prepared to discuss, and search for solutions to some of the biggest issues facing our society.