I am dedicated to creating high-quality learning experiences for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as working with the general public and land managers through outreach and community service. My broad training has prepared me to teach an array of classes including: Soil Science, Soil Biology, Microbial Ecology, Forest Ecology, and Sustainable Agriculture.
My teaching style is largely integrative because I believe that learning occurs most effectively when students can understand how the course material relates to their broader body of knowledge. By integrating course material with related subjects, current scientific literature, and real life examples, students come away with a more concrete notion of how the information they are learning fits in with their broader body of knowledge and enhances critical thinking skills. To put this philosophy into practice, I develop lectures, labs, assignments, and exam questions that encouraged students to not just memorize facts, but to apply information and discover how the “part” fits in with the “whole.”
My teaching style is largely integrative because I believe that learning occurs most effectively when students can understand how the course material relates to their broader body of knowledge. By integrating course material with related subjects, current scientific literature, and real life examples, students come away with a more concrete notion of how the information they are learning fits in with their broader body of knowledge and enhances critical thinking skills. To put this philosophy into practice, I develop lectures, labs, assignments, and exam questions that encouraged students to not just memorize facts, but to apply information and discover how the “part” fits in with the “whole.”
(Kate is now pursuing a PhD in Genetics at NC State University, and Matt is an Engineering student at Colorado School of Mines)
Outreach
I have participated in a number of outreach activities including presenting scientific findings to general audience groups at The Holden Arboretum and providing articles on ecological topics for Leaves magazine. I have also developed and led classroom and laboratory exercises on ectomycorrhizal fungi, soil science, and microbial ecology for students from urban and rural schools, and served as a judge for the Northeastern Ohio Science and Engineering Fair.
|
Click to set custom HTML