Teaching Statement

(Please see my CV for a detailed list of my teaching experience.)

I have a distinct memory, from the end of my first year as an undergraduate student, of excitedly devouring the course catalogue in search of any and all courses that included a (preferably foreign) fieldwork component. After a disappointing year of passively absorbing long lectures and memorizing arcane details about cellular processes and anatomical features of organisms, I realized that my interests were more ‘big picture’ and extended beyond biology; in order to learn about them I needed to get out there, into the real world. I knew what I wanted to learn: if we talk about 'saving the environment', what does this really mean? How do people understand, value and interact with their environment? I also knew how I wanted to learn it: by getting my hands dirty. Not only did this realization inform my choices as a student, it continues to inform my evolution as a teacher. I strive to share the enthusiasm and excitement I have for my subject with students, while insisting they ‘get their hands dirty’.

How do I help students ‘get their hands dirty’? In human geography and environmental studies, this can be both literal (through field-based courses) and figurative (through student-centered learning). I am a firm believer in the value of field-based learning, not only because I enjoyed this kind of course as a student, but because I believe it offers students the opportunity to more fully engage with ideas by experiencing them firsthand. For example, as a field instructor for a course in Australia, I helped students to construct a feral-proof fence to protect native wildlife from introduced species. By working on the fence with local park staff and seeing the animals and environment involved, students gained a better appreciation of what resource management entails - tradeoffs, value judgments, uncertainty, and hard work! They explored these ideas through group discussion and debate, building on what was learned through their hands-on work. (Click here to read a description of the volunteer project in the local newspaper).

Although students may not always be able to travel thousands of miles to interact with the subject at hand, they should always be able to take an active role in learning course material. Whether in the classroom or in far off locales, I view my job as a teacher to be a tour guide for students as they encounter and work with course material. I try to orient them to the key concepts in the field, making sure they see ‘the highlights’, to offer a map for navigating through the material (e.g. by presenting methods and theories used in the discipline and specific approaches for analyzing concepts), and to make sure they ‘enjoy the trip’ by conveying my enthusiasm for the process, while allowing them to focus on those aspects that interest them most. In a course I taught on “International Conservation and Development” (see syllabus, adapted from original by L. Campbell), I used ‘environmental discourses’ as the overarching analytical approach. First I introduced students to the concept of ‘environmental discourse’ and presented an example of one particular discourse (click here to see powerpoint of lecture ); next we watched a film (Second Nature) and discussed as a class how it could be interpreted using the environmental discourse framework; and finally, students were asked to use the framework to present an analysis of an environmental discourse to the class (click here to see assignment). By adopting the role of instructor, each student took responsibility for learning some of the course material independently and engaging the class in a discussion that centered on her own concerns and interests.

Regardless of the specific course content, I expect students to learn essential concepts in the field as well as how to critically analyze and apply these concepts. I try to consciously incorporate these lower and higher order thinking processes into course assignments. For example, I had students participate in a debate on the merits of ecotourism, but the assignment was broken down into three parts: (1) debate preparation - collection of background information and arguments; (2) the debate itself; and (3) post-debate comment (click here to see assignment). This required students to: gather information (knowledge and understanding); consider how it related to their role in the debate (application); draw out arguments relevant for their position and opponents' positions (analysis); put together a coherent position, based on multiple arguments and counter-arguments (synthesis); and finally, to step back and assess the merits of all of the various positions in the debate in their final report (evaluation). This assignment included both individual and group work (as part of the debate team) and required both written and oral communication. The students responded well to this assignment, and I will definitely use it (or an assignment like it) again.

I try to remember that each student approaches the course with his/her own perspective, expectations, interests and experience. As the ‘guide’ I may have ‘been there before’, but there is nothing more refreshing than to see things from the perspective of a student who is encountering material for the first time. Moreover, students often point out features I may have overlooked or question concepts I have taken for granted. It is this constantly evolving conservation between me as ‘guide’ and the students as ‘travelers’ that I find most rewarding. One activity I have used to formalize this conversation is the reading log, combined with in-class discussion (click here to see assignment). A sort of ‘travel log’ of a student’s journey through course material, it offers students the opportunity to engage with and reflect on concepts on their own terms. Just as students learn through critical reflection, so do I as a teacher. I look forward to continuing my own journey as a teacher, improving my practice over time.