TEACHING PHILOSOPHY AND EXPERIENCE

Teaching is my passion. Engaging students in a way that leaves them with a deeper understanding of the world around them and the skills necessary to make informed choices is my main objective. Completing the Certificate in Teaching Higher Education at Rutgers has been very helpful in expanding awareness and flexibility in my teaching goals. Implementing strategies for teaching in large lecture halls and knowledge of student resources were invaluable when faced with individual students in crisis, or university wide tragedies. Serving 9 years as a K-12 Board of Education Member in NJ has provided me with the opportunity to expand my knowledge of various learning styles and processes. One of the biggest movements in K-12 pedagogy is the concept of differentiated instruction and individualized learning. While at the undergraduate level this may not seem practical, I have found that it is not only possible, but improves student performance and overall learning. I am a visual learner so I tend to use a lot of visual imagery and data, as well as embed video clips into my lectures. I recognize that there are students who need concrete information presented in ways that are easily organized and retrievable. My intention as an educator is to provide everything that each student needs to be successful. I post a lecture outline to the course website 24 hours prior to lecture. Students can print it out, or bring it to class on their electronic device. Key information and terms are missing from the outline and must be identified during lecture, and filled in. I do this so that students spend more time listening and less time writing, while still creating a connection with the most important terms and concepts. A week prior to an exam, the format and review sheet with terms and potential questions are posted. An on-line review session is offered the night before any exam. The syllabus informs students that exams are thorough and expectations are high. Yet inevitably, results of the first exam send many students into my office hours to discuss their grades. Often these students are transfer students from community colleges who have not been prepared for the rigor of the coursework at a four-year institution. When I meet with a student, I go over every question and explain to them what they got wrong and what the correct answer was. I also tell them that if they come to class, work with me during office hours and make index cards to study from, I guarantee their grade will improve drastically. I thrive on seeing my students succeed and grow in their personal development. I believe every student possesses the ability to learn and excel and that it is my responsibility to provide the resources necessary for them to be successful. For students who are very interested in lecture material, I post additional links to videos, websites, potential field school opportunities, academic articles and news pieces to the course website. These items are not required and will not be on exams, but allow for ambitious students with a desire to pursue specific topics in more depth, the opportunity to expand their learning. I have extensive experience administering and adapting assessments for students with special needs, or who have demonstrated a mastery of content but whose exam results may not reflect their true abilities. Lecture courses with 240 students unfortunately require assessments to be given in a multiple-choice format that may not accommodate learners with specific processing and cognitive issues. Allowing these students the opportunity to be evaluated using a variety of assessment tools, gives them the best chance at a positive outcome. A large part of my teaching philosophy revolves around the concept of student individuality. Recognizing that every student comes to the classroom with a different set of experiences and history. I try to learn about my students by asking questions in class that elicit responses based on a student’s unique perspective or experiences and I strive to create an environment of cooperation and tolerance. We are on a journey through the subject together, aided immensely by technology that allows for building a sense of community by participation in blogs on topics of interest, course-wide data bases that everyone contributes to and discussion groups where ideas and opinions are shared. Many of the topics I teach might be considered controversial and perspective changing. Exposing students to evolutionary logic may lead them to reassess their assumptions of complex social issues such as infanticide, mate choice, sexual coercion, aggression, sex differences in behavior, homosexuality, race and religion. Respectful, fact-based discussions are essential in creating an optimal environment for inclusive discussions and empowered learning experiences for everyone. These topics are extremely relevant to the daily lives of undergraduates. I have helped many students with personal issues including those involving mental health and personal safety. My stalking and sexual coercion lectures in Human Aggression often bring forward students who ask for my advice in addressing these issues. I took one female student directly to campus police after a stalking lecture because she realized during lecture how dangerous her situation actually was. My experience teaching in the Rutgers Writing program was incredible and left me with a strong desire to make sure students were well read, but also to include written assessments in my teaching. Even in large lecture halls courses such as Social Evolution, students are assigned a short paper. In all upper division courses I teach there are extensive written assignments from weekly reading summaries, to essays on exams and a significant research paper. I give guidance in the syllabus as to expected format and citation methodology and offer students the option to submit drafts for review and editing prior to grading the final draft. I feel these skills are very important and by reinforcing them in coursework, I maximize my effectiveness as an educator whose goal is to contribute to the creation of capable, informed and productive citizens. I believe in hands-on mentoring of students and providing opportunities to expand their learning outside of the classroom. I offer field trips to zoos in my primate courses where students come prepared with background research on specific species and a question they wish to address. They create a behavioral ethogram, design a data-recording sheet and conduct preliminary observations while at the zoo. I have mentored and supervised undergraduates in independent research and have co-authored papers and traveled to international conferences with undergraduate students who formally presented their research. Several of these students conducted Masters level research as undergraduates and have gone on to successful careers in academia and beyond. My goal has long been to teach in an intimate liberal arts setting that facilitates intellectual inquiry and collaboration, with students coming first and a focus on creating citizens who have the knowledge and skills to thrive in a complex, ever-changing 21st century environment. I am passionate about teaching and evolution. I feel my vast experience in Biological Anthropology, the depth and breadth of my knowledge, along with my passion and dedication to innovative teaching and student engagement allows me to provide key insights on human behavior. RELEVANT GRADUATE LEVEL COURSESWORK: Human Osteology utilized extensive cross-cultural osteological and dental collections analyzed cranial anatomy of a hydrocephalic cradle boarded child Dental Anthropology cast, measured and scored dental anatomy of 286 Jamaican children Primate Behavior Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes sp.) psychological wellness
Ring Tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) behavioral thermoregulation & aggression Comparative Primate Anatomy dissected human, primate and dog cadavers
Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) hind limb musculoskeletal anatomy Disease and Human Evolution:
osteopathology, HIV, epidemiology, evolution ofvirulence Human Biological Variation human evolutionary genetics, Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA Paleoanthropology history and theory, primate fossil record, fossil hominids Evolution of Behavior:
social theory, altruism, cooperation, morality, aggression, mate choice COURSES DEVLOPED AND READY TO TEACH: 100 Level 200 Level 300 Level Cultural Anthropology Social Evolution Life of Primates Primate Socioecology
Primatology and Human Evolution Human Aggression ADDITIONAL COURSES I AM INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING: Physical/Biological Anthropology Human Origins
Evolution of Cooperation
Human Variation Evolutionary Medicine Human Osteology Forensic Anthropology