TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

I believe that science is inclusive and fun.

Inclusion is a two-way street: first, all students are required to actively think about and improve their science communication and group collaboration skills. Second, there is a zero-tolerance policy for any direct or indirect silencing or belittling of others.

Science is fun. Enjoying the pursuit of knowledge is one of the best aspects of being sapiens. I dedicate classroom time and one-on-one mentoring with students and lab members to help them realize why our science is cool.

below are the Lutz principals of engaging higher education of forest ecology

THE BEST PLACE TO TEACH FOREST ECOLOGY IS IN THE FOREST

TEACHING WITH COLLEAGUES SYNERGISTICALLY IMPROVES INSTRUCTION

TNGL presentation photo IMG_5120_edited.

LEAD BY EXAMPLE: EXCITEMENT AND ENTHUSIASM IN STUDENTS WILL FOLLOW FROM THEIR TEACHERS

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DIFFERING STUDENT BACKGROUNDS DEMAND DIFFERENT TEACHING APPROACHES

MENTORING

Students in my lab are held to a high standard based on empirical measures of productivity. Scientific knowledge can only be increased if it is communicated. Thus, I expect undergraduate theses to be published or made available online (e.g. on Wikipedia) and all graduate thesis chapters to be published in peer-reviewed journals. Postdocs will be mentored to choose projects that meaningfully advance our field and be featured in general interest high-impact journals.

Teaching

Students on a field course in

French Polynesia

2018 Instructor for ASE Field Experience: Methods in Wildlife Ecology (Sarawak Borneo)

3 week full-time hands-on field course
Attended by 4 NTU undergrads, 1 Thai masters student, 1 USA masters student

2018 Guest lecturer: Advanced Topics in Ecology at NTU in ASE, led by David Wardle

I taught 1 week of the 11 weeks of instruction.
My teaching scores were 4.50 (no lab)

2018 Guest lecturer: Tropical Ecology at NTU in ASE, led by Shawn Lum

2017 Instructor for ASE Field Experience: Methods in Wildlife Ecology

Sarawak Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia
7 week full-time hands-on field course

Attended by 6 NTU students

2017 and 2018, co-taught: Intro to Ecology at NTU in ASE, led by Patrick Martin

I designed and taught 3 of 11 weeks of instruction
My teaching scores were 4.76 (lectures) and 4.82 (lab tutorials)

Teaching at UC Berkeley

Graduate Student Instructor for “Conservation Biology” (ESPM c158)

30 students, Professor Claire Kremen

Graduate Student Instructor for “Biology and Geomorphology of Tropical Islands”.

A 13-unit field course taught in French Polynesia (Moorea and Tahiti). The curriculum includes the fundamentals of field research, marine and terrestrial ecology, geomorphology, biodiversity sampling, invasion biology, animal behavior.

Graduate Student Instructor for “Wildlife Ecology” (ESPM 114)

145 students, Professor: Justin Brashares

Graduate Student Instructor for “Conservation Biology” (Integrative Biology)

75 students, Professor: Steve Beissinger

THE ECOLOGICAL CASCADES LAB