Profile

My beliefs about teaching & experience:

As teachers we have a unique opportunity to contribute to the creation of the next generation of competent and compassionate professionals who in turn will create a healthy, prosperous, and a more equitable future for all. My focus on chemistry education is due to the impact chemistry instructors have on the career choices and life of their students. I would describe my teaching to be student-centered, scientific inquiry-based and active learning oriented. My goals for teaching are to: (1) foster conceptual understanding of my students. (2) create a student-centered learning environment through a classroom that is respectful of student diversity and open to student ideas. (3) incorporate guided inquiry-based teaching in classroom and laboratory. (4) make content relevant for students such that they connect to chemistry in ways that are of practical significance to their professional aspirations and everyday experiences. (5) enhance higher order thinking skills among students by providing them several opportunities to problem-solve; construct & explain models; collaborative group work, and through reflective writing.  At UO my focus is on lecture and laboraory courses in general chemistry. I have taught several chemistry courses at various institutions (Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa, Grand-Valley State University (GVSU), and South Dakota State University-SDSU). My teaching experience includes courses offered face-to-face, through distance education and inter-collegiate collaborative hybrid courses. I have taught large enrollment courses (up to 400 students), and also a small group of students (4-10) in graduate level chemistry courses.