Mentoring
As a mentor I try to lead by example, but also try to encourage student originality and success by helping students seek out multiple
sources of advice and example. I am interested in working with students at all educational levels and I am interested to hear just about
any research idea. I might not be the person to help you carry it out, but I at least would like to help you find the expertise you seek.
If you are thinking about finding a mentor, whether it be me or another person, I have written a MENTORING GUIDE
that is tuned to my expectations, but it also is a good general guide to a mentoring relationship.
Statement of Teaching Interests
As an assistant professor I hope that my teaching responsibilities will relate to my research interests as well as my current and
evolving areas of expertise. I would feel confident teaching the following courses: introductory geology/earth sciences, undergraduate courses
in geomorphology, structural geology, field geology/mapping, hydrogeology, remote sensing/geographic information systems (GIS),
and tectonics. I would also be very interested in developing advanced seminar courses in the areas of active tectonics, natural hazards and social justice,
and human/landscape interactions. Finally, I am committed to helping
students succeed and I am interested in helping to organize classes or seminars related to professional betterment for undergraduates
(job applications, graduate school preparation, etc.) and improvement in pedagogy training for graduate students (and for my own betterment).
I have co-written a GUIDE TO APPLYING TO GEOSCIENCE GRADUATE SCHOOLS
, this is a good example of the type of material that I am interested in making more available to students for their academic and career success.
My teaching philosophy is that coursework should not simply indoctrinate students with disciplinary ways
of understanding problems, but also challenge students to think reflectively about our methods of developing
research questions and truly engage with the subject they are learning. Whenever possible I believe hands on
learning should take place. Field trips, mapping, remote sensing, simple modeling, and literature reviews
should be used to develop students’ ability to formulate research questions. This way it is possible to add
to the community’s body of knowledge during the individual’s learning process. I find that group work can be
especially helpful because students engage one another; enhancing communication skills and developing the
ability to work in teams. Finally, I value contributions from practitioners of from outside of academia and
from interdisciplinary colleagues within the university. I hope that I can engage guest speakers from these
groups when it is appropriate in my classes for the purpose of stimulating discussion, complexity, and helping
students seek out their true interests.
I believe that an important part of an undergraduate education is engaging deeply with a topic and thinking critically about it and
the methods of investigation and ideas that have formed that topic. As much as possible, undergraduates should participate in research.
The strategy of participating in research early in the education process was integral for my education, motivation, and professional preparation.
I think that there should be partnerships between classroom education, local stakeholders, and ongoing research projects in the form of service
learning projects. Service learning and research-based learning is especially fruitful in earth science, GIS, and remote sensing based courses.
Additionally, it is my belief that we learn the most by teaching and doing so higher education should foster a tiered mentoring support network
where upper division students have the opportunity to help younger undergraduates learn and succeed while honing their own skills and abilities.
Courses Taught As a graduate student I have had the opportunity to teach (TA) a number of introductory level courses in geology as well as lead some more focused topical courses in
my areas of expertise.
Spring 2009 Interdisciplinary and Career Opportunities in the Geosciences:
I organized and led this seminar-style course in Spring 2009. The opportunity to create this course was afforded by an IGERT in urban ecology TAship.
I designed this course for upper level undergraduate earth and space science (SESE) students. The purpose of the course was two fold. 1) To generate discussion about
the diversity of topics covered in the Geosciences and focus in on the interdisciplinary nature of these topics. We read some literature about
interdisciplinary theory. 2) The second purpose was to discuss Career paths and opportunities in the earth sciences and provide group mentoring
for the undergraduate students. We had 8 guest lectures from academics and professionals. They shared thier stories about finding their career paths
and discussed how to take advantage of opportunites for success. I also collected and produced documents about REU interships, graduate schools, and jobs
for the students. Several students took advantage of these opportunites! Here are annonymous reviews/comments from students
Spring 2009 IGERT Workshop on Investigating Interdisciplinary Teaching: I co-led, with other students, a workshop organized around
investigating interdisciplinary pedagogy through literature reviews, interviews with professors, and focus groups with students.
March 2008 Active Tectonics Short Course - Paleoseismology: With Ramon I led one day of a 5 day short course on active tectonics at the
University of Potsdam, Germany. The short course was organized by Manfred Strecker. In addition to creating several exercises I learned a lot from the
other instructors.
Summers 2006 and 2007 Field 2 Geology Camp: I was a TA for two summers of ASU's geoscience field camp near Payson, AZ.
I worked with professors Tom Sharp, Ramon Arrowsmith, and Steve Semken to help supervise students as they developed their geologic mapping skills. I led
two different training modules, mapped with students, graded maps, helped students with report writing, and provided transportation. Fun Experience!
Here are annonymous reviews/comments from students
Fall 2005 Introductory Geology Assistant: I was a teaching assistant with Rick Hervig in 2005. My duties were primarily to teach
review sessions prior to tests, meet with students for help sessions, and grade. However I also had the opportunity to give a couple guest lectures.
Here are annonymous reviews/comments from students
Spring 2005 ASU Geology Lab Instructor: I led 3 labs with approximate 30 students each through weekly exercises discussing introductory
topics in Geology.
Here are annonymous reviews/comments from students
Spring 2003 UVM Geology Lab Instructor: I was an assistant TA for a UVM geology lab. I provided transportation and assisted students in
grasping introductory concepts.
