Teaching is the art of leading students on an exciting journey of discovery to gain knowledge and insight about our shared world. I share my love for the natural world through teaching, mentoring, research, and extension activities. My priorities are to: (1) create an intellectually challenging, cooperative, and inclusive learning environment for diverse students, (2) foster student engagement using innovative teaching techniques and flexible mentoring strategies, (3) provide timely formative and summative assessments on assignments and activities that promote workforce readiness, and (4) hold students to a high level of expectation regarding subject matter proficiency and professionalism.   

 

First, I am enthusiastic about my courses and strive to create intellectually challenging, cooperative, and inclusive learning environments for diverse students. I begin each semester by reading aloud my personal statement on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI principles), which is included on my syllabi. I want students to know that I am a safe person, I respect their personal identity, and value their personhood. I endeavor to breakdown the traditional and overly formal professor-student relationship that can impede open discussion and questioning, in an effort to cultivate a more inclusive and cooperative learning environment in which students feel a sense of belonging. Ensuring students feel and know they belong, although important in all disciplines, is particularly important in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering Math) because many students aspire for STEM careers, yet few reach their goals due to lack of success in science classrooms or have limited contact with inspiring mentors. To ensure diverse students see themselves represented in the fields of Ecology and Conservation Science, each class period I put an “Ecologist or Conservationist in the Spotlight” to show students the diversity of people that contribute to these fields of study. I specifically highlight scientists from underrepresented groups (e.g., first-generation, differently abled, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, Black, Indigenous, and other people of color [BIPOC]) who’s contributions are too often excluded from course textbooks. I find that attention to human diversity and celebrating the fact that human diversity drives scientific innovation, creates greater feelings of inclusion and belonging for my students, which in turn, leads to the success of students with a broader range of backgrounds in my courses.

 

Second, I engage and empower students in their learning process by using innovative high-impact teaching practices and diverse mentoring strategies. By empowering students in their personal learning journeys (e.g., flipped classroom, specifications grading, iterative assignments, constructive self-reflection), I find students are more invested in their learning and less focused on their grade. I blend elements of traditional lecture, guided-inquiry, peer-to-peer sharing, problem-based and solution-focused activities, collaborative projects, course-based undergraduate research (CURE), and service learning activities, as well as constructive self-reflection, all of which help students immerse themselves in the subject matter and connect their in-class learning across their academic experiences and more broadly to diverse societal contexts. I also serve as my students’ academic cheerleader when they need encouragement to explore new ways of engaging in their learning process (e.g., metacognitive think out louds), particularly when course content challenges their understanding of the natural world or personal belief system. By engaging and empowering students in their learning journeys using a variety of innovative high-impact teaching practices, my students gain new knowledge, learn new and marketable skills, and develop greater empathy and self-confidence as they cultivate their inner-ecologist/conservationist and develop as more compassionate global citizens in our shared world.    

 

Third, I provide timely and constructive assessment of student work, both formative and summative, to promote student workforce readiness and foster each student’s ability to engage in constructive self-reflection to better connect course content across their academic experience and more broadly to diverse societal contexts. Whether through informal/formal discussions with students during in-class activities, evaluations of thoughtfully crafted weekly skill-building assessments, high-level conversations about student research and/or service learning engagement, providing instructive written feedback on student assignments, proposals, abstracts and manuscripts, or guiding students through constructive self-reflection, constantly assessing what students know and how their knowledge connects to the world beyond academia are important for student personal, academic, and professional growth. Consistently assessing students’ knowledge and coursework informs my understanding of how well I am leading students in their learning journey and professional development. Whether teaching or mentoring, being honest with students about my expectation for their performance is critical. Thus, specifications grading helps me hold students to a high performance-based standard while also holding me accountable for clearly communicating my expectations for student work products. I also routinely assess my effectiveness as a teacher and mentor through reflective practice and by soliciting student feedback, ensuring my students, mentees and I are all achieving our learning and professional development goals.

 

Lastly, I hold my students to a high level of expectation regarding subject matter proficiency and professionalism both inside and beyond my classroom. By accepting the responsibility of teaching and mentoring students, I enter into a professional relationship with students that requires not only their level best performance and participation, but mine as well. The level of expectation I set for my students, I also hold for myself, demonstrating my commitment to collaborating with my students on our shared journey of discovery to gain new knowledge and marketable skills, to effectively communicate our knowledge in a professional manner, and to extend what we learn in the classroom more broadly across diverse societal contexts. In my classes, students learn how to connect their growing disciplinary knowledge and understanding to real-world issues of ecological and conservation concern, connecting scientific theory to practical applications that allow students to hone, develop, and document their knowledge and marketable skills to promote workforce readiness. Relevancy and application are essential for the retention of new knowledge, inspiration for creative ideas, and for fostering the success of diverse students aspiring to enter professional STEM fields.