Teaching

Sharing my passion includes my passion for chemistry and science communication. I love chemistry because it impacts every aspect of life, from medicine to cooking to art, and I want my students to comprehend its relevance and power. Chemistry is truly fundamental in that introductory courses help students develop a scientific foundation for discussing ideas, solving problems, and understanding the world. I support also interdisciplinary teaching to help students see connections between their courses. The best progress can be made when scientists work together, which is an important precedent to set via collaborative learning environments.

Fostering potential means recognizing each student as an individual and supporting different styles of learning. My experience working one-on-one with students underscored the need for a variety of teaching approaches, including traditional lectures, applications to real-world examples, and independent research projects. I would also employ tools such as documentaries and podcasts that exemplify science communication and discuss current scientific topics. In the classroom, I aim to be helpful without being overbearing. I believe it is important to give students space to discover what they don’t know. Ultimately, I strive to be adaptable, to answer questions effectively, and to emphasize that communicating what you don’t understand is an important first step to understanding it.

Facilitating learning involves promoting genuine life-long learning, not memorization or earning grades. My favorite teachers inspired me to think about course ideas outside the classroom and consider how they are relevant to daily life. I want to give my students the tools to analyze data, solve problems, and evaluate ideas from a scientific point of view. My ideal form of assessment would center around this idea; I envision evaluating students on applying new knowledge instead of just regurgitating it. I also believe true mastery of a concept is shown when you can teach the topic, so I would encourage presentations and provide science communication opportunities. Students often feel a lot of pressure when it comes to grades, so I want my students to focus on learning in ways I can assess qualitatively and individually.

Overall, my goals are to captivate students with the course material and to empower them to share it with others. Furthermore, I aim to exemplify my willingness to learn alongside my students, to be accountable to them, and to incorporate their ideas to create a safe and conducive learning environment. Although it may sound oxymoronic, I want students to feel both capable and challenged in my class, meaning they are confident in what they are learning and inspired to pursue it on a deeper level.