Teaching and mentoring philosophy
Questioning is the foundation of critical thinking
Using a student-led, team-based version of the Socratic method, I encourage students in the classroom to help identify key questions about the material as a group. I then actively help guide student learning in a real-time open dialogue based on their immediate feedback. This student-centered, back-and-forth questioning paradigm gives the students the ability to rapidly assess gaps in their understanding and enables me to adjust learning objectives in real time. It also gives the students confidence in their ability to verbally express ideas, and reminds them it’s ok to not immediately know an answer.
Fostering inclusion, equity, and diversity
Each student has a unique educational background which shapes how they engage with the material. I strive to ‘meet students and mentees where they are’, and help them get where they want to be. Many systems and structures in academia operate on ‘hidden curriculum’-the unspoken, insider knowledge about academia that comes with experience or privilege. A core educational goal of mine is to demystify this curriculum, and decrease barriers of access to education through my long-standing dedication to service, community outreach, and mentoring
Learning through ‘failure’
Much of my learning as a scientist has happened when an experiment has failed or not fully worked on the first try. Knowing how to evaluate why something has gone wrong forces you to engage with the material in a new way. Effective troubleshooting takes practice, and over time bolsters student’s ability to critically reason through both individual experiments and large-scale problems. I instill in my mentees and students that ‘failing’ is not inherently negative if you treat it as an opportunity to learn.