Empathy Centered Teaching Philosophy
As a teacher, I extend empathy and affirmation that I often did not receive at crucial ages and training stages. Many students have preconceived, often negative, notions about learning science in academic environments. I attribute this partially to rote memorization of topics that are hard to apply to real life or demoralizing “look to your left, look to your right, only one will remain at the end of the semester” speeches. My classes are learner centered-- I am committed to implementing various activities to cater to different learning styles, identities, and abilities. Not every student has the same end goal or rationale for taking a course. I strive to meet students where they are while challenging them and giving them the tools to get them where they want to be.
Classroom Equity
Assumptions that every student comes in with the same level of preparation can be destructive to syllabus design and lesson planning. Access to resources and quality of education directly correlate with class, power, and race. Programs such as advancement placement, international baccalaureate, or dual enrollment are not equally distributed or afforded to all parts of the nation. These opportunities notably prepare enrolled students for comparable courses at their future college or university. I strive to create curriculums that acknowledges differences in one’s prior education. I have taken advantage of free, open access resources like Coursera and YouTube to curate instructional videos and activities that supplement materials learned in class. My classroom expectation is all students are to be treated with respect and compassion. Rapport and mutual respect build an inclusive environment where students are empowered to ask questions and help their peers. Science should be accessible to everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, class, ability, gender, sexual preference, religion, age, immigration, or first generation college status.
Teaching Experiences
I started teaching as early as eight grade. My father volunteered me to tutor his coworker’s elementary school aged daughter who was struggling with reading and math. Word of mouth spread of my success with her academic improvement. I soon had parents asking for my help to prepare their children for the Maryland State Assessment: a standardized test that determined placement in future classes. From eighth grade to my junior year of high school, I tutored elementary and middle school aged students from Prince George’s County and Baltimore City Public Schools. The subjects I covered ranged from elementary math (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), geometry, algebra I and II, trigonometry, and biology.
I declared my major as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the honors university, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. As a Meyerhoff Scholar, my freshman year I received a peer advisor who guided me through picking classes, applying to internships, asking for letters of recommendation, and learning different study methods. Through Meyerhoff, I learned the importance of viewing students holistically and designing individual academic and career plans.
I worked as a teaching assistant for an introductory biology course for five consecutive semesters. This course was my first introduction to team-based learning or using group work to reach a common goal. I attended biweekly lecture and once a week I led discussion sections to a classroom of ~ sixty students. I identified students who were engaged and attempting to learn the material but were slipping through the cracks. I arranged additional teaching sessions in our 24/7 access library to help these students get up to speed and pinpointed the concepts they did not understand. Several of my students not only passed the course, but also went on to become teaching assistants as well. During my junior year, I tutored through the Chemistry Tutorial Center and held biweekly review sessions on general chemistry or organic chemistry. Students arrived with specific problems they could not solve, and we worked it out together on the whiteboard. We discussed how to approach the problem, eliminate wrong answers, and create step by step solutions.
As a Duke neurobiology graduate student, I taught two Duke university courses. I served as a teaching assistant Spring 2018 for a graduate level neuroscience course, neurobiology of disease. I attended organizational meetings with the instructor Dr. Jim McNamara to plan which physician scientists we would invite to lecture. During the semester, I was the lead point of contact for all lecturers and fifteen students. I curated all required scientific readings and evaluated their disease mechanism presentations for a grade. At the time, we did not have a formal syllabus or course evaluation. I created a Qualtrics survey and a syllabus that highlighted the course description, student learning outcomes, and community standards. Fall 2019, I taught a House Course : undergraduate courses that bridge the gap between academic expectations and outside life. My undergraduate mentee, Alexandra Fink, proposed the course “Becoming Science” to address inequalities and barriers marginalized students face in science. We co-created a syllabus, gathered reading materials, organized a marginalized graduate student panel, and arranged a faculty speaker (Damon Tweedy, MD ; author of Black Man In a White Coat). We assigned practical homework such as “write an email template to a professor asking to join their lab” or “create a CV.” For students’ final grade, we evaluated their ability to present a peer reviewed science article.
Pedagogical Training
At Duke, I am enrolled in the certificate for college teaching (CCT). CCT encourages team based learning as we reflect on our professional materials together and design future course materials to appeal to different learners. CCT utilizes "teaching triangles" or a peer facilitated feedback session after a colleague has watched you instructed a for credit course. I have completed three graduate level courses: College Teaching, Diverse Learners, and Contentious Issues, College Teaching and Course Design, and College Teaching and Visual Communication. Lastly, I plan to apply to the Preparing Future Faculty program to accelerate my trajectory to a tenure track position.
Teaching Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the most intersectional and widely encompassing field in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Psychology, physics, computational theory, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, and ethics are all represented in neuroscience. I will implement Bloom’s Taxonomy to create dynamic student learning objectives that address different levels of knowledge: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. I support students shaping their own learning experience. I will design activities that encourage creativity like science raps or 3D modules I want my students to be able to generate novel outsides both within and outside of the field of neuroscience. In order to do so, I must prepare them to understand the fundamental principles of neuroscience and identify real world applications and problems. I plan to use current event articles, case studies, and patient testimonies to make the material relatable and relevant. I will use technology to increase the accessibility of my materials. I will accommodate students who may not have daily access to personal computers by highlighting available campus resources and publishing due dates in advance. I will ensure that all of my materials are open access and available on the university’s course website (e.g. Sakai, Blackboard).
As a teacher, I extend empathy and affirmation that I often did not receive at crucial ages and training stages. Many students have preconceived, often negative, notions about learning science in academic environments. I attribute this partially to rote memorization of topics that are hard to apply to real life or demoralizing “look to your left, look to your right, only one will remain at the end of the semester” speeches. My classes are learner centered-- I am committed to implementing various activities to cater to different learning styles, identities, and abilities. Not every student has the same end goal or rationale for taking a course. I strive to meet students where they are while challenging them and giving them the tools to get them where they want to be.
Classroom Equity
Assumptions that every student comes in with the same level of preparation can be destructive to syllabus design and lesson planning. Access to resources and quality of education directly correlate with class, power, and race. Programs such as advancement placement, international baccalaureate, or dual enrollment are not equally distributed or afforded to all parts of the nation. These opportunities notably prepare enrolled students for comparable courses at their future college or university. I strive to create curriculums that acknowledges differences in one’s prior education. I have taken advantage of free, open access resources like Coursera and YouTube to curate instructional videos and activities that supplement materials learned in class. My classroom expectation is all students are to be treated with respect and compassion. Rapport and mutual respect build an inclusive environment where students are empowered to ask questions and help their peers. Science should be accessible to everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, class, ability, gender, sexual preference, religion, age, immigration, or first generation college status.
Teaching Experiences
I started teaching as early as eight grade. My father volunteered me to tutor his coworker’s elementary school aged daughter who was struggling with reading and math. Word of mouth spread of my success with her academic improvement. I soon had parents asking for my help to prepare their children for the Maryland State Assessment: a standardized test that determined placement in future classes. From eighth grade to my junior year of high school, I tutored elementary and middle school aged students from Prince George’s County and Baltimore City Public Schools. The subjects I covered ranged from elementary math (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), geometry, algebra I and II, trigonometry, and biology.
I declared my major as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the honors university, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. As a Meyerhoff Scholar, my freshman year I received a peer advisor who guided me through picking classes, applying to internships, asking for letters of recommendation, and learning different study methods. Through Meyerhoff, I learned the importance of viewing students holistically and designing individual academic and career plans.
I worked as a teaching assistant for an introductory biology course for five consecutive semesters. This course was my first introduction to team-based learning or using group work to reach a common goal. I attended biweekly lecture and once a week I led discussion sections to a classroom of ~ sixty students. I identified students who were engaged and attempting to learn the material but were slipping through the cracks. I arranged additional teaching sessions in our 24/7 access library to help these students get up to speed and pinpointed the concepts they did not understand. Several of my students not only passed the course, but also went on to become teaching assistants as well. During my junior year, I tutored through the Chemistry Tutorial Center and held biweekly review sessions on general chemistry or organic chemistry. Students arrived with specific problems they could not solve, and we worked it out together on the whiteboard. We discussed how to approach the problem, eliminate wrong answers, and create step by step solutions.
As a Duke neurobiology graduate student, I taught two Duke university courses. I served as a teaching assistant Spring 2018 for a graduate level neuroscience course, neurobiology of disease. I attended organizational meetings with the instructor Dr. Jim McNamara to plan which physician scientists we would invite to lecture. During the semester, I was the lead point of contact for all lecturers and fifteen students. I curated all required scientific readings and evaluated their disease mechanism presentations for a grade. At the time, we did not have a formal syllabus or course evaluation. I created a Qualtrics survey and a syllabus that highlighted the course description, student learning outcomes, and community standards. Fall 2019, I taught a House Course : undergraduate courses that bridge the gap between academic expectations and outside life. My undergraduate mentee, Alexandra Fink, proposed the course “Becoming Science” to address inequalities and barriers marginalized students face in science. We co-created a syllabus, gathered reading materials, organized a marginalized graduate student panel, and arranged a faculty speaker (Damon Tweedy, MD ; author of Black Man In a White Coat). We assigned practical homework such as “write an email template to a professor asking to join their lab” or “create a CV.” For students’ final grade, we evaluated their ability to present a peer reviewed science article.
Pedagogical Training
At Duke, I am enrolled in the certificate for college teaching (CCT). CCT encourages team based learning as we reflect on our professional materials together and design future course materials to appeal to different learners. CCT utilizes "teaching triangles" or a peer facilitated feedback session after a colleague has watched you instructed a for credit course. I have completed three graduate level courses: College Teaching, Diverse Learners, and Contentious Issues, College Teaching and Course Design, and College Teaching and Visual Communication. Lastly, I plan to apply to the Preparing Future Faculty program to accelerate my trajectory to a tenure track position.
Teaching Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the most intersectional and widely encompassing field in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Psychology, physics, computational theory, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, and ethics are all represented in neuroscience. I will implement Bloom’s Taxonomy to create dynamic student learning objectives that address different levels of knowledge: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. I support students shaping their own learning experience. I will design activities that encourage creativity like science raps or 3D modules I want my students to be able to generate novel outsides both within and outside of the field of neuroscience. In order to do so, I must prepare them to understand the fundamental principles of neuroscience and identify real world applications and problems. I plan to use current event articles, case studies, and patient testimonies to make the material relatable and relevant. I will use technology to increase the accessibility of my materials. I will accommodate students who may not have daily access to personal computers by highlighting available campus resources and publishing due dates in advance. I will ensure that all of my materials are open access and available on the university’s course website (e.g. Sakai, Blackboard).
Lab Mentoring
Throughout my graduate research thesis, I have mentored and supervised three rotation graduation students, seven undergraduates, and one high school student. I earned the prestigious Duke University Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring after my current and former mentees nominated me. I reflect on the best and worst parts of my undergraduate research experiences to guide how I mentor. I remember lacking confidence and being scared to ask questions when I did not understand science articles; consequently, I set up weekly journal clubs with my mentees to discuss concepts. Topics like gene editing with CRISPR may seem simple to me now, but I remind myself that I also already understand protein dynamics, genetics, and viral expression. My students and I would discuss each of those fundamental aspects before diving into papers of using genetically mutated mice to study depression.
Independence makes resilient and proud researchers. A sense of ownership or accountability over projects is not only valuable but this motivates people to work hard to collect and analyze their scientific data. However, before I encourage trainees to work independently, I take several measures to assure they are thoroughly prepared. I designed several hands-on activities to review major concepts that are integral to our lab research. For example, I created a brain atlas activity that challenges trainees to find brain coordinates before they learn how to perform surgery. I assign my trainees to take meticulous notes about equipment set up, experimental design, rationale, our research question, and troubleshooting. A former rotation student created a surgery guide prezi that shows visuals of the brain and surgery equipment and lists our electrode surgery protocol. In early stages of teaching, I avoid jargon. It’s more memorable to compare injecting a mouse with saline during surgery to a sick patient receiving an IV in the hospital than explaining the technical ion gradient and osmosis preventing dehydration with a subcutaneous saline administration. My didactic teaching includes many physical hands-on opportunities. Before giving my mentees a living mouse to operate, I encourage them to practice suturing with gloves or drilling and placing screws in a plastic container. My former students have successfully applied and presented at national science conferences, been admitted into graduate school, and received competitive fellowships such as the National Science Foundation.
Throughout my graduate research thesis, I have mentored and supervised three rotation graduation students, seven undergraduates, and one high school student. I earned the prestigious Duke University Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring after my current and former mentees nominated me. I reflect on the best and worst parts of my undergraduate research experiences to guide how I mentor. I remember lacking confidence and being scared to ask questions when I did not understand science articles; consequently, I set up weekly journal clubs with my mentees to discuss concepts. Topics like gene editing with CRISPR may seem simple to me now, but I remind myself that I also already understand protein dynamics, genetics, and viral expression. My students and I would discuss each of those fundamental aspects before diving into papers of using genetically mutated mice to study depression.
Independence makes resilient and proud researchers. A sense of ownership or accountability over projects is not only valuable but this motivates people to work hard to collect and analyze their scientific data. However, before I encourage trainees to work independently, I take several measures to assure they are thoroughly prepared. I designed several hands-on activities to review major concepts that are integral to our lab research. For example, I created a brain atlas activity that challenges trainees to find brain coordinates before they learn how to perform surgery. I assign my trainees to take meticulous notes about equipment set up, experimental design, rationale, our research question, and troubleshooting. A former rotation student created a surgery guide prezi that shows visuals of the brain and surgery equipment and lists our electrode surgery protocol. In early stages of teaching, I avoid jargon. It’s more memorable to compare injecting a mouse with saline during surgery to a sick patient receiving an IV in the hospital than explaining the technical ion gradient and osmosis preventing dehydration with a subcutaneous saline administration. My didactic teaching includes many physical hands-on opportunities. Before giving my mentees a living mouse to operate, I encourage them to practice suturing with gloves or drilling and placing screws in a plastic container. My former students have successfully applied and presented at national science conferences, been admitted into graduate school, and received competitive fellowships such as the National Science Foundation.