Since I was a middle-schooler (alumnus of Kucera Middle School), I knew I wanted to be a teacher. Having had such great instructors and mentors, like Mrs. Nowlin, Mrs. Rojano, and Mrs. Scambray, I was motivated to give back in that kind of way. After having significant challenges during my undergraduate years - having nearly been dismissed on academic grounds, and after years of reflection on this experience, I have developed my teaching philosophy.
My teaching philosophy is grounded within the framework of the liberal arts, where I encourage students to make connections (students will often hear me say: connect rather than collect); connections between their academic and personal lives, connections between their personal experiences and that in the news around them, and connections between their coursework.
In addition, a valuable lesson I learned in undergrad is the realization that I could never be perfect (or even close to perfect) in all aspects all the time. I encourage my students to accept that as well, and to give them permission to not be perfect. We often build the highest expectations on ourselves and then are the least forgiving for when we fail. Instead, I encourage students to see these as life-learning opportunities - in time management, development of realistic goals, parsing out intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations.
At Ohio Wesleyan University, I have had the pleasure of teaching the following courses:
UC 100: Global Scholar Seminar
UC 160: The OWU Experience
ENVS 111: Physical Geography
GEOG 235: Energy Resources
GEOG 245: Weather and Climate
GEOG 347: Human Impacts on the Environment
GEOG 369: Remote Sensing of the Environment
GEOG 375: The Science Behind Climate Change
ENVS 499: Applied Renewable Energies
Numerous independent study, directed readings, and supervising of studentinternships.
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