I am developing a student-centered active learning curriculum for an undergraduate introductory course on Earth History at Dartmouth this winter, where I will be the sole instructor-of-record and supervise a large teaching team through the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning's Learning Fellows program (based on CU Boulder's Learning Assistant Program) to enhance small-group activities in a course of over 70 students.
Students will develop an understanding of: the vast temporal and spatial scales of geological processes; the intertwined development of Earth systems including the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere; and how observations in the present day enable scientists to test hypotheses about the past.
A small, advanced laboratory and lecture course for Earth Science majors. We covered every topic in Nesse including indicatrices, crystallography, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy.
As the sole instructor-of-record, I developed and delivered 24 original lectures with active-learning components and 9 original laboratory exercises identifying mineral specimens in hand sample and thin section. We also had a class field trip to the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum! I additionally managed one graduate Teaching Assistant who delivered one lecture.
Curious about my course design, learning objectives, and schedule? View my course syllabus!
I was one of a team of eight Teaching Assistants for lead instructors Prof. Jane Willenbring and Prof. Stephen Graham in a large course of 80 students. I weekly delivered brief interactive lectures, followed by two hours of hands-on laboratory instruction. Students took an active role in learning identification of minerals and classification of rock types, use of thin section microscopes, interpretation of geological maps and diagrams, and many other practical skills. I also aided the instructors on field exercises, grading exams, and delivering active learning components in lectures.
I worked as the sole Teaching Assistant for lead instructors Prof. Laura Schaefer and Prof. Sonia Tikoo for a small course of ten students. My responsibilities included crafting course review materials, running active-learning student office hours, grading and assigning student feedback, delivering guest lectures, and leading the midterm review session. I helped students work through challenging, open-ended questions by beginning with ideation and model creation, and encouraging student persistence in thinking scientifically about how to answer a question or work with data. After student and instructor nominations, I received Stanford’s Centennial Teaching Assistant Award in recognition of my dedication and passion for helping my students to succeed in this course.
I worked as a team of 10-12 teaching assistants for Caltech's most popular introductory course, Ge1, with Professor Paul Asimow.
Over four years (I took the course in 2015 and immediately became a Geology major) with this course I developed mastery in my understanding of and ability to explain geological processes throughout time; the history of the development of the Earth into a habitable planet; and quantitative methods in Earth science.
In my final year I took a more active role, redeveloping a lab activity on isostasy to fix issues from previous years; I also was the sole TA for a 3-day field trip in the Owens Valley, California.