I enjoy teaching, the transference of knowledge and inspiring interest in the field is a rewarding experience for me. I believe that true learning is more than memorizing a list of facts, that it is a teacher's responsibility to help students gain an understanding of how the parts fit together as a whole. The most important skill a student can acquire is how to analyze a question and then figure out how to find the answer rather than having the perfect answer to the question already prepared ahead of time. It's my belief that this skill will then help them answer unforeseen questions in the future; this is especially important in the sciences as the answers lead to further questions, more often than not.

I have found that the most effective ways for me to learn was from the professors and teachers who had the most interactive lectures and who asked for large projects rather than a series of smaller homework assignments. I believe that in larger classes it is the teacher's responsibility to transfer their general knowledge and foundational concepts, but as the classes decrease in size, the teacher/tutor should begin to act more as a personal mentor, encouraging individual students to think for themselves as much as possible. As a TA, I would spend most of the assigned class period moving from group to group watching over their progress and answering any of their specific questions, as well as asking them questions in turn.

A teacher's/mentor's attitude toward the student is key to gaining the student's respect and attention and allows the teacher to be more effective.

My professional goals are to improve and expand upon my teaching skills and background. My personal goals are to learn to effectively engage students, to create as interactive lessons as possible, and to inspire a new generation of scientists.