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Teaching Statement

Philosophy

Students in my data analysis course may not initially be interested in the nitty-gritty details of data wrangling, but I believe students are more likely to engage with and retain information when they value what they are learning. I aim to motivate students by illustrating real-world applications of the material to their own lives. For example, in my class on figure design students work on case studies relevant to their own interests, from scatterplots showing the variance of toe length in lamas to stacked bar plots demonstrating relative disease prevalence in individuals who eat cheese. By framing the material in this way, I hope to foster greater student investment in their learning.

Beyond motivation, I also strive to ensure that students have many opportunities to practice material in ways that are both high-quality and engaging. For instance, I use active learning techniques such as daily group discussions, student-led case studies, and in-class problem-based learning to encourage students to apply the material in realistic scenarios.

Additionally, I recognize that students may have different learning preferences or needs, and I aim to offer options that are more inclusive and equitable. This includes providing multiple formats for course materials (e.g., visual aids, audio recordings, written summaries), and offering different ways for students to demonstrate that they have reached the course learning objectives (e.g., exams, projects, and presentations).

Ultimately, my goal as an instructor – regardless of whether I am teaching data analysis, entomology, sensory biology, or yoga – is to foster a love of learning that extends beyond the classroom. By creating engaging and meaningful learning experiences, I hope to equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to pursue their goals long after leaving my class.

Experience:

Teaching Data Science

In 2022 I was awarded Duke’s BASS Instructional Fellowship for a data analysis course I designed targeted at undergraduate seniors working on their honors thesis (see course syllabus here). I have been asked to present sections of this course as a guest lecture in Duke Biology’s thesis writing course in Fall 2023 and will be teaching a revised version of this course as a co-instructor of record in Duke Biology’s new year-long data analysis class for incoming graduate students from Fall 2023-Spring 2024. This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the fundamentals of coding that will be vital for their future research, as well as to foster a supportive community amongst the new students. I am currently in the process of assisting the other two co-instructors, Drs. Greg Wray and Paul Magwene, in designing the calendar, syllabus, and materials for this new course and will be responsible for a third of the class lectures.

Guest Lecturing

As a guest lecturer in the Mechanisms of Animal Behavior (Bio 268), I developed and co-taught a module designed to teach students the fundamentals of circular statistics, while also allowing them to get hands-on experience collecting their own data. Both lectures resulted in my receipt of Duke’s Data Expedition award; the course materials and outcomes can be viewed on the Data Expedition website here for 2021 and here for 2022. This module will continue to be taught by future graduate students.

I have additionally guest lectured for the Biology First-Year Seminar “Body Size in Biology: Size Matters” (Bio 89S), developing a module that teaches students the fundamentals of coding in R, while also allowing them to explore the differences between isometry vs allometry using measurements from their own body.

Teaching Assistantships:

I have been a TA for two biology capstone courses, Bio 547—Entomology (nine students, link to student evals), and Bio 546—Mammalogy (four students, link to student evals), in which I was responsible for running and helping to design the lab sections. My work in both courses earned me an honorable mention in our departmental TA awards.

For Entomology, this involved a series of classroom-based identification and dissection labs to familiarize the students with taxonomy and field-based excursions for insect collection. During this time, I developed a series of jeopardy-style games to increase engagement in the taxonomy labs. Additionally, I noted that several students in this course were struggling with exam anxiety, so I hosted a series of Saturday review sessions where we worked in small groups to tackle the course material in ways that made the prospect of an exam seem less daunting.

For Mammalogy, my participation in lab design was supposed to be minimal; however, this course was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The lab sessions for this course revolved around hands-on skeletal manipulation that were difficult to translate into an online format. I worked with the course instructor to reformat these labs into a series of manipulable online workbooks and coding modules to achieve the same learning outcomes.

Pedagogy Training

Through the Certificate in College teaching program at Duke, I have completed coursework in the following courses:

  • Teaching Biology: Bio 705S
  • College Teaching and Course Design: GS 755

Additionally, I participated in the certificates’ “Teaching Triangles” program, wherein groups of three instructors collaborate to observe and provide constructive feedback on each other’s teaching for one semester.

Group Fitness

Perhaps surprisingly, the skills I have developed in teaching group fitness have proven to be highly applicable to my work in the college classroom. I began teaching kickboxing in 2016 and expanded into yoga in 2017 after completing a 200-hour yoga teaching certification course. Not only have I learned to manage large groups of students at varying skill levels, I also developed the ability to continually monitor the room to ensure everyone is following along and understanding the material. This requires me to adapt my lesson plans on the spot to meet the unique needs of each individual. Moreover, my experience in fitness instruction has honed my ability to communicate effectively with clear delivery (even while sprinting—although this is a less frequent occurrence in my academic classes). Most importantly, however, teaching group fitness has taught me how to set aside my ego to focus on the needs of my students. It brings me immeasurable joy to make a positive difference in other’s lives through my fitness classes, and I carry that same passion and commitment to my teaching in higher education.

Career Goals:

As a future professor, I strive to cultivate creativity and critical thinking in my students. Whether in the classroom or in research settings, I aim to foster a culture of curiosity and open-mindedness that allows students to engage deeply and ask meaningful questions. By empowering students to think independently, I hope to equip them with the skills they need to tackle complex problems in their own lives.

I am also passionate about mentoring students and helping them navigate their own paths through science and beyond. My research in the field of animal navigation and orientation is ideal for undergraduate and graduate research opportunities. For example, I have been working with a team of undergraduates for the past five years to explore how arthropods locate suitable food sources. This project is specifically designed to be a stepping stone for students who have not had access to research opportunities in the past. I bring students together in small groups where we work together to learn the basics of literature review, project design, and behavior based experimentation in a safe and non-judgmental environment. This then provides them with the tools and experiences necessary to apply to other research positions and internships to meet their own career goals. By providing opportunities for hands-on research experience and guidance through the scientific process, I aim to inspire a new generation of researchers and foster a more diverse and inclusive scientific community.

Courses I can teach:

I am prepared and qualified to teach courses at both an undergraduate and graduate level in Sensory Biology, Animal Navigation and Orientation, Data Analysis for Biologists, Quantitative Biology, Agent Based Modeling for Biologists, and related subjects.

 

 

Note, ChatGPT was used to assist in some of the phrasing/sentence structure used in this document. (OpenAI. ChatGPT. Last accessed March 7th 2023)