About Me:

It is my overarching goal to motivate instructors to fully adopt evidence-based teaching methods as well as inclusive and equitable practices. Such teaching strategies in the classroom can attract and retain diverse talent in STEM and empower students to reach higher levels of cognition. As the new faculty development coordinator, I aim to build a community for instructors around these themes and to ensure that instructors and faculty feel included and supported as they pursue these goals.

Providing new faculty with opportunities to build a teaching community helps with their sense of belonging as well as becoming integrated into the Eberly College of Science and familiar with many resources on campus. Programs that we run foster continued engagement of instructors throughout the year, and they include the new faculty Welcome and Connect event, book clubs, and guided tours of key teaching centers and spaces across campus.

I have over a decade of experience teaching large, small, in-person and online courses in astronomy and astrophysics. With such diverse courses, I have explored many different teaching strategies and have even incorporated sustainability into my course on black holes. I am happy to share my accumulated experiences as well as listen to new ideas.

Ask me about: what research says about why students switch out of STEM majors, backward course design, active learning, inclusive practices for enhancing student learning and experience, sense of belonging for students and for faculty, and how to incorporate socioscientific issues and sustainability in your courses.

Fun fact about me: I don’t care much for sandy beaches. I prefer beaches without sand where water is crystal clear and I can snorkel.