What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy focuses on developing effective feedback for students, integrative teaching between lecture and laboratory, and incorporating real world examples into the classroom. Overall, my goal is to establish an active learning environment in both the classroom and the research laboratory to successfully engage each student I encounter.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

I like to get to know the student, perhaps get to know their hobbies or activities they are interested in. Next, I like to talk to them about what they are covering in the chemistry class, what they are having difficulty with, questions, ask them about their teacher, etc.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I like to have them start answering questions on their own with little or no help. I also like to have students explain back to me what they have done, how they plan to solve a question or how they did solve the problem. If the students can correctly explain what/how they are doing a problem, the more likely they will be answer a similar problem on their own.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Students need lots of feedback. Telling them they did a good job or where they need more work usually helps them to stay motivated. If they are frustrated, possibly moving onto a different problem/topic and coming back to the frustrating one helps keep them moving. Finally, relating the problem to something they already know/interested in also helps.