Without effective teaching or mentorship, the implications of the research and science that we produce often can remain unrealized. One of my greatest joys in life comes from observing someone develop a new skill or watching as an idea solidifies in their mind. I am passionate about both mentoring and teaching, much of my teaching philosophies are centered around the value of small group instruction (even if it occurs in larger classrooms), where more intimate connections can be made between the concepts and students.
In my mind, learning and teaching are closely interwoven with each other, and both are strongest when founded in natural curiosity and humility. Ultimately, my goals for teaching are to create an environment where 1) students have the opportunity to master skills through the supervised exploration of ideas, 2) develop the ability to think critically about science and problem solving, and 3) discover their individual passions and interests in ecology, evolution, and wildlife management. For students to succeed at any of those three things, however, it is critical they are learning in an engaging, healthy, and welcoming environment. I aim to create a space that welcomes and encourages students to question ideas and concepts, especially because learning can be most valuable when done together. Though I will provide expertise and instruction, I strive to learn from and with students. By creating a space where everyone—regardless of skill level or knowledge—is open to learning, it instills in students that learning is an evolving and constant process that will continue for your entire career, and often requires working through problems collaboratively.
Regardless of the level or content of a course, I aim to implement the following practices into my teaching: 1) individualized, consistent, and detailed feedback for students, 2) anonymous evaluations of course content and teaching effectiveness multiple times throughout the semester, and 3) development of specific and achievable goals and objectives based on the individual student’s needs, career/learning stage, and student choices. The teaching style and tools I use will differ depending on course content and experience/education level of students.
For many courses the introduction of foundational material requires some form of lecture-based learning; yet lecture-based learning often can be ineffective for some students to learn and retain information (McKeachie and Svinicki, 2014). When teaching content through lectures is necessary, I have, and will continue to, implement small and large group discussions throughout the lecture which allows students to use critical thinking skills and retain engagement (Cooper and Brownell 2016). Small group discussions have been demonstrated to improve the performance of students that are low achieving in courses which were solely lecture based and allow students to take some of the responsibility for learning content because they are more actively engaged (Simonson 2014). To implement small group discussions when lectures are a necessity, I typically follow a similar pattern each week: 1) 5 minutes of lecture information followed by 2 or 3 open-ended questions posed to the entire class, 2) 3 – 5 minutes of small group discussion (3 – 4 students) where students can focus on any or all of the proposed questions, and 3) 2 minutes of large group discussion to share thoughts from individual groups with the entire class. That pattern is repeated for the entire lecture period, which engages students to think critically about the content of the lecture throughout the entire class period.
For undergraduate students, one of the fundamental aspects of any class I teach (regardless of the content) will be focused on helping develop and hone critical thinking skills. The ability to think critically and creatively about problems is fundamental to effectively conducting science, yet often has not yet been refined in young students. To achieve this, I aim to use both team-based learning and student-led, small group discussions throughout the courses I teach. Team-based learning allows students to 1) practice and gain skills necessary to think critically and problem solve, 2) develop the skills to work collegially with others and 3) provides a community environment in which students can both learn from and teach others in their groups (Sibley and Spiridonoff). Successful teamwork and collaboration are founded in the ability for team members to communicate with other team members and instructors safely and effectively. For courses that will be heavily focused on team-based learning, I will have a small focus on the beginning part of every course on democratic dialogue to ensure that team members have the right tools to communicate effectively and professionally with other students and instructors.
For graduate students, the ability to think and develop questions independently should be a critical piece of their graduate education. For graduate level courses, my teaching is focused on individual projects which allow students to develop independent problem solving skills. Graduate students have many demands on their time, and structuring courses that allow students to make progress on their own research projects often can be very effective, because the tools and skills they are learning are directly applicable to their own research. For graduate level courses, allowing students to use their own data and ideas to learn question and hypothesis development, analytical approaches, grant and proposal writing, or manuscript writing often can increase their investment and accountability in learning content because the skills they are learning directly translate to progress on their own research projects. Through individual, inquiry-based learning, students still have the capacity to develop critical thinking skills but can refine where they focus their efforts to areas of inquiry that are most applicable to their project and passions (Ernst et al. 2017). Additionally, for graduate student courses, differentiated instruction is often necessary and crucial to the success of students. By tailoring goals and expectations to each individual student’s need and experience level, graduate students have a more welcoming space to learn and develop (Wormeli 2006). For example, a first-year master’s student and a 3rd year PhD candidate may enter a course with very different skill sets, yet both can still gain critical experience and learn effectively if expectations and goals are set by individual students at the beginning of the semester and frequent feedback and communication occurs to ensure those goals are being met.
The classes in which I have most enjoyed teaching are ones where students can develop skills through hands-on and project-based work. While one-on-one work can be challenging given the logistical constraints of teaching requirements and class sizes, I strongly encourage students to attend and work with me individually during office hours outside of regular instruction, and through many of the courses I’ve taught, I have made the most impact on students during one-on-one instruction during office hours.
References
Coopper and Brownell. (2013). Coming Out in Class: Challenges and Benefits of Active Learning in a Biology Classroom for LGBTQIA Students. CBE Life Sci Education
Ernst, D. C., Hodge, A. & Yoshinobu, S. (2017). What Is Inquiry-Based Learning? Doceamus. 64(6). 570-574.
McKeachie, W. J., & Svinicki, M. (2014). Teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers (14th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Sibley, J. and Spiridonoff, S. (n.d.) Introduction to Team-based Learning. The University of British Columbia Faculty of Applied Science. https://www.uwyo.edu/science-initiative/lamp/active-learning-spectrum/_files/documents/intro_to_tbl.pdf
Simonson, S. R. (2014). Making students do the thinking: team-based learning in a laboratory course. Advances in Physiology Education.
Wormeli, R. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Tayler LaSharr 