Pedagogy & Experience
Teaching Philosophy
Critical thinking is the greatest skill we can help our students develop.
"Never stop questioning everything."
Every student will face difficult challenges after leaving the classroom. For this reason, I believe the most transferable and impactful skill we can install in our students is the ability to creatively and critically solve challenges.
Cultivate an aptitude for clear & effective communication.
The ability to clearly and concisely express information to an audience will largely impact the career trajectory of most students.
To meaningfully develop each student's presentation skills, I routinely integrate several opportunities for students to present concepts or findings to their cohort. These presentations serve the dual purpose of refining the student’s presentation skills, while simultaneously cementing their own understanding of the material-at-hand.
Effective teaching reflects the variety of ways students learn.
"No two students are the same."
Some students excel under traditional learning styles, while others flourish only when they are given the creative freedom active learning opportunities offer. This reality is why, in my experience, the best educational outcomes often come from a welcoming learning environment that uses several pedagogical approaches.
Teaching Experience
Principles of Biology
Introductory biology labs at West Virginia University (~40 students across 2 sections per semester) where I led a weekly discussion group, walked students through the day’s experiment, held office hours, and graded reports, quizzes, and exams.
Honor's Introductory Biology Add-On
Here, I served as a teaching assistant for a Problem-Based Team-Based (PTBL) learning course taken concurrently with introductory biology.​​
Organic Chemistry
As an undergraduate, I led a weekly tutoring session where I taught fellow undergraduates Organic Chemistry through the chemistry department's Peer-Led Team Learning program at West Virginia University.
Introductory Physiology
Introductory biology labs at West Virginia University (~40 students across 2 sections per semester) where I led a weekly discussion group, walked students through the day’s experiment, held office hours, and graded reports, quizzes, and exams.
Molecular Genetics
Junior-to-senior undergraduate biology course at West Virginia University, where I served as the instructor of record - as opposed to a teaching assistant.
I created the syllabus, all instructional (i.e., lectures, study sheets, handouts, etc.) and assessment materials (i.e., quizzes, exams, etc.) used throughout this course on genetic phenomena (e.g., Position-Effect Variegation), and traditional and modern techniques (e.g., RNAi, CRISPR, etc.).
​
​
​
​
​
​
Cellular Biology
Sophomore (& above) biology labs at West Virginia University (~40 students across 2 sections per semester) where I led a weekly discussion group, walked students through the day’s experiment, held office hours, and graded reports, quizzes, and exams.
Guest Lecturer
I have also given several guest lectures on the powerful insights delivered from the use of Drosophila as a model for investigating unresolved questions in modern neuroscience.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Mentoring
Inter-institutional Mentoring
I have successfully mentored students from outside my institution through programs like NSF's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) & the federal TRiO program.
I currently also serve as a mentor for the FlyCROSS mentorship program through the Genetics Society of America (GSA).
Mentoring in the Lab
I have successfully mentored several undergraduate & graduate students in long-term research lab projects that involved molecular, neuroanatomical, physiology, and behavior techniques.
​
​
Within-institute Mentoring
I have helped several undergraduate & graduate students achieve their goal(s) - albeit, academic or professional.
​
​
​
​
​
Educational Resources
The droso4schools project is a creative science communication/education project by the Manchester Fly Facility promoting the use of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster for the teaching of curriculum-relevant contents in school biology lessons.
​
​
BioInteractive brings the power of real science stories into tens of thousands of high school & undergraduate life science classrooms through free classroom resources and professional development.
The Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center (BDSC) has compiled several educational resources for facilitating a curriculum that includes Drosophila experiments.
Action Potential Simulators
These interactive simulators help reinforce and supplement lectures introducing students to the major way neurons communicate with one another, the action potential.
​
Explore lesson plans and other teaching resources for neuroscience, cell biology, and immunology.
Regardless of whether you want to get started using DLC for your research or integrate DLC into your curriculum, these materials will be immensely helpful.