As a teacher, my goal is to pique the curiosity of my students, and inspire in them a sense of wonder at the beautiful complexity of natural systems. Whether I am teaching general or ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry, or soil science, I see the most important task as one of providing sufficient context that the students recognize the relevance of the course topics to their preexisting interests, opening the door to the students asking qSuestions about the topics themselves. In order to appeal to students' interests, I must get to know the students, and I must teach in ways that are accessible to a variety of backgrounds and learning styles. To these ends, my courses involve a great deal of student-professor interaction, and lean heavily on interactive, experiential learning activities.
