Teaching experience and philosophy
Broadly, my goal as a teacher is to inspire students to address environmental problems creatively and collaboratively using science-driven approaches. Our brains are our best tool for solving environmental problems, so I train students to think outside the box rather than memorize facts or definitions from a lecture or textbook. Real-world problems rarely have a single "right answer"; we are in an "all hands on deck" crisis situation and desperately need everyone's ideas, skills, knowledge and perspectives if we are going to identify innovative, durable solutions to environmental problems. I have this same mindset both in the classroom and when mentoring individual students in research.
You can read my most recent, cherry-picked student testimonials here, with full survey results further below. I feel very fortunate to have received such consistently positive feedback from students over the years.
Courses taught as main instructor
SUS/ESS 4100 Conservation Biology* (Spring 2023, 2024; Colorado Mountain College) (Summit) (in person in 2023, hybrid in 2024) (syllabus) (schedule) (final student feedback on what they learned)
FW 444 Conservation Biology* (Spring 2021, 2022; Michigan State University) (fully online in 2021, partly online in 2022) (syllabus) (schedule) (2021 survey results) (2022 survey results)
IBIO 355 Ecology** (Fall 2020; Michigan State University) (online) (syllabus) (survey results)
FW 472 Limnology^ (Spring 2018; Michigan State University) (flipped classroom) (syllabus) (survey results)
* course I personally designed , ** co-instructor, ^ flipped classroom
Courses taught as a teaching assistant
ESM 263 Geographic Information Systems (Spring 2015-2016, Winter 2017; UC Santa Barbara) (student ratings) (student written feedback) (2 section files merged)
ESM 270P Conservation Planning Practicum (Fall 2015-2016; UC Santa Barbara) (student ratings) (student written feedback)
WLE 201 Ecology (Fall 2011; University of Maine) (no student feedback records exist)
Undergraduate students mentored (research assistant or independent study)
Lindsie Egedy (Michigan State University; spring 2018-present)
Jessica Diaz (Michigan State University; fall 2018-present)
Andrea Paul (Michigan State University; summer 2022-spring 2023)
Emily Wasen (Michigan State University; summer 2022-fall 2022)
Graduate student mentorship (master's student group projects)
An investigation of wolf-livestock conflicts in California (UC Santa Barbara; 2015-2016)
Sharing Canada's last frontier: balancing conservation and development in the MacKenzie River basin (UC Santa Barbara; 2016-2017)
Broadly, my goal as a teacher is to inspire students to address environmental problems creatively and collaboratively using science-driven approaches. Our brains are our best tool for solving environmental problems, so I train students to think outside the box rather than memorize facts or definitions from a lecture or textbook. Real-world problems rarely have a single "right answer"; we are in an "all hands on deck" crisis situation and desperately need everyone's ideas, skills, knowledge and perspectives if we are going to identify innovative, durable solutions to environmental problems. I have this same mindset both in the classroom and when mentoring individual students in research.
You can read my most recent, cherry-picked student testimonials here, with full survey results further below. I feel very fortunate to have received such consistently positive feedback from students over the years.
Courses taught as main instructor
SUS/ESS 4100 Conservation Biology* (Spring 2023, 2024; Colorado Mountain College) (Summit) (in person in 2023, hybrid in 2024) (syllabus) (schedule) (final student feedback on what they learned)
FW 444 Conservation Biology* (Spring 2021, 2022; Michigan State University) (fully online in 2021, partly online in 2022) (syllabus) (schedule) (2021 survey results) (2022 survey results)
IBIO 355 Ecology** (Fall 2020; Michigan State University) (online) (syllabus) (survey results)
FW 472 Limnology^ (Spring 2018; Michigan State University) (flipped classroom) (syllabus) (survey results)
* course I personally designed , ** co-instructor, ^ flipped classroom
Courses taught as a teaching assistant
ESM 263 Geographic Information Systems (Spring 2015-2016, Winter 2017; UC Santa Barbara) (student ratings) (student written feedback) (2 section files merged)
ESM 270P Conservation Planning Practicum (Fall 2015-2016; UC Santa Barbara) (student ratings) (student written feedback)
WLE 201 Ecology (Fall 2011; University of Maine) (no student feedback records exist)
Undergraduate students mentored (research assistant or independent study)
Lindsie Egedy (Michigan State University; spring 2018-present)
Jessica Diaz (Michigan State University; fall 2018-present)
Andrea Paul (Michigan State University; summer 2022-spring 2023)
Emily Wasen (Michigan State University; summer 2022-fall 2022)
Graduate student mentorship (master's student group projects)
An investigation of wolf-livestock conflicts in California (UC Santa Barbara; 2015-2016)
Sharing Canada's last frontier: balancing conservation and development in the MacKenzie River basin (UC Santa Barbara; 2016-2017)
