teaching and mentoring
Teaching Philosophy
I have pursued a career in academia out of a desire to teach, mentor, and collaborate with students from diverse backgrounds, and help change the way these students look at the world. My own disability has inspired an empathetic understanding of the full diversity of student needs, which guides my pedagogical practice and my mentoring style. After obtaining my PhD, it will continue to guide how I run my classrooms, mentor students, and contribute to the university community around me.
I do not view teaching as a day job that enables me to do the “real work” of research. Instead, I view teaching as integral to my praxis as a biocultural anthropologist, and as a key method of advocating for justice in society. For me, the classroom is a type of field site, where the instructor-anthropologist can observe and participate with our students, where we should have a critical eye on the material we present, on society, on institutions, and most importantly, on ourselves.
curriculum development
I recently designed a seminar course for Spring 2022 titled “Biology of Inequity” This course will explore how different types of oppression (based on race, gender, sexuality, disability, etc.) affect health, locally and globally, historically and today. The course is also planned as a project-based course using project-based learning (PBL) techniques. As a result, the course is designed for students to be self-directed learners, building both content knowledge and soft skills such as project management, professional communication, and teamwork.
In 2020, I also developed a course on inclusive pedagogy geared towards other anthropologists. Building on the theories of Paolo Freire, culturally-responsive teaching, social psychology, neuroscience of learning, universal design for learning, and others, the course would equip anthropology grad students to become good teachers and antiracist activists in the classroom.
teaching experience
From 2016 to 2019, I was a Graduate Lab TA for ANP 300 Human Anatomy at Stony Brook University. This position has included:
making a lab syllabus, developing learning objectives, preparing weekly presentations with engaging examples, practice quizzes, and worksheets, and writing lab quizzes including a practical component
teaching one-on-one from bones and lab models while supervising two undergraduate TAs per section
teaching two three-hour sections per week, each with about 15 students
Before becoming a lab TA, I was also a teaching assistant for two other courses in the Anthropology department.
In Fall 2015 I was TA for ANP 120 Introduction to Biological Anthropology. I partially wrote exams and homework assignments, graded homework assignments, held office hours, and gave one lecture.
Then in Spring 2016, I assisted with online course development for ANP 120 Introduction to Biological Anthropology. Specifically, I created online labs exploring a full range of biological anthropology topics including primate morphology, genetics and natural selection, human evolution, and primate behavior.
I also gained teaching experience as a undergraduate at Ithaca College.
In Spring 2014, I was a lab TA for ANTH 384 Forensic Anthropology. I taught human bone anatomy to other undergraduate students in groups of 2-6 at a time, and oversaw open lab hours where I tutored students one-on-one.
From Fall 2011 to Spring 2014, I was a TA for FREN 101 and 102 Beginner French. I led 1 or 2 recitation sections per semester each containing 5-13 students, where I applied and developed language skills, passion for the subject, and educational skills
Pedagogical training
Spring 2021 - Towards Antiracist Pedagogy, EGL department of Stony Brook U
Fall 2020 - Project-Based Learning
Summer 2020 - Online Teaching Certificate (mini-credential), Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), Stony Brook: learned how to design effective online courses: syllabus, learning outcomes, content delivery, discussion boards, authentic assessment, specific technologies
Summer 2019 - Design Education Programs for Conservation Success, Primate Education Network Online Course: learned to analyze need, craft effective messages for diverse audiences and goals, and evaluate the impact of programs
Mar 2019 - Teaching & Learning Colloquium, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), Stony Brook: attended breakout sessions in educational video-making, accessibility, online course development, at-risk students, and active-learning strategies for teaching evolution
Fall 2017 - College Teaching Seminar Series, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), Stony Brook: participated in workshops on syllabus design, teaching science, and evidence-based instructional practices
Mentorship
Coming soon