Teaching
I enjoy sharing my love for ecology, wetlands and fungi with others. I am also extremely grateful for my education and the many scientists that inspired me over the years. It is therefore very important to me that I pass on this knowledge and passion. Teaching is not an afterthought in my career.
Working with a variety of students, from 6th graders to PhD candidates, has shaped my perspective on science education. Two early experiences stand out; the semesters instructing the field and writing intensive ecology lab at Northern Arizona University, and the year as a GK12 fellow in a middle school science classroom. Both experiences highlighted the fact that the most effective way to get students interested in science is to involve them in the active and creative side of the scientific process as quickly as possible. More recently, I have had the opportunity to teach about wetlands and ecology extensively at SUNY-ESF, and now instruct an advanced ecology lab course at Syracuse University. Even when a course is lecture-focused, I aim to infuse activities that allow students to actively participate.
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As a lover of fungi, it is readily apparent that these organisms are severely misunderstood by our culture and are typically an afterthought in biology classroom instruction. Fungi are one of the most diverse groups of organisms on earth, far more diverse than plants and vertebrates, and are involved in a great array of processes necessary for human well-being. I attempt to incorporate fungi into my teaching and outreach activities as much as possible. Fungi are highly photogenic and some are quite delicious. After removing the veil of mystery surrounding fungi, I find that many people become quite interested in them. The latest challenge I have encountered is figuring out how to dispel the myth that fungi form some sort of passive network of straw-like tubes by which plants nurture each other; as appealing as this idea is, I think the world below our feet is much more complex than this.
Fungus booth at the Flagstaff Festival of Science
Teaching with fungi in a middleschool science class