My Teaching Philosophy
As a biologist, I am fascinated with the diversity of living
organisms and their interrelationships with each other and their
environment. As a Christian, I view nature as God's wonderful
Creation and feel a responsibility to be a caretaker of it. These
are the two perspectives I bring to my students.
I believe effective teaching begins with being aware of my students'
points of view. I try to be open to their perspectives of the world,
their approaches to learning, their concerns, visions, fears, and
interests. By using analogies, metaphors, and images I attempt to
translate the understanding I have for the subject matter into a form
that I think best connects with my students. I see myself as a
catalyst who tries to ignite an expansion in the critical and
analytical thinking abilities of my students. I view teaching as
one-half of an interactive process where my goal is to create a
learning environment for my students--a place where they are
encouraged and motivated to actively participate in that interactive
process.
I also believe in "teaching through research". I feel students
learn more from their teachers outside the classroom--in places more
conducive to personal or informal interactions (e.g., field or
laboratory research). By actively participating in research, student
learn how to approach scientific problems, how to generate and test
hypotheses, and how to analyze data and present results orally or in
writing. For students, research provides educational experiences
they can not find in a classroom. In many instances, it may even be
the beginning of a satisfying and rewarding career in science. For
faculty, research provides material which can be incorporated into
the courses they teach, and keeps them abreast of the changes that
are occurring within their particular discipline.