Update: I am joining the faculty of the University of Nevada Reno Natural Resources and Environmental Science Department beginning July 2019. The new lab website is here: www.blaszczaklab.weebly.com
Teaching Statement
My roles as an environmental scientist and educator are intertwined. When I am not in the classroom, my fellow scientists teach me about their discoveries and I in turn teach them about mine. Then together, we find common inference to advance our collective understanding. I aim to bring this approach of collaborative learning into a classroom setting that is inclusive, transparent, and flexible. I believe that effective teaching incorporates not only lecturing in the classroom, but also frequent writing exercises, peer-to-peer communication, and solicitation and incorporation of student feedback throughout a course to ensure achievement of student learning objectives. My goal as a teacher is to provide an inclusive learning experience where students with diverse professional aspirations can improve their critical evaluation, writing, technical, and communication skills while mastering fundamental concepts in environmental science.
Discipline & Active Learning in Practice.
As a watershed biogeochemist, ecosystem ecologist, and environmental toxicologist, I believe I am most strongly suited to teach courses within those domains and connected disciplines. In 2017, I developed a four-week summer session Urban Ecology course designed to teach students about ecology and socio-ecological systems within urban areas. Throughout the course, students were repeatedly engaged in classroom activities which reinforced the concepts they learned through the assigned readings, short (20-minute) lectures, group discussions, and field trips. Each class period began with a quick review in which students shared with each other one thing they learned from the previous day in class, while each class ended with anonymous note cards in which each student wrote one thing they learned and one lingering question. This allowed me, as the instructor of record, to keep a pulse on what concepts the class was still struggling with and to improve comprehension of the course material by revisiting those concepts.
In order to establish assignment expectations and assessment transparency, each assignment throughout the course had an associated rubric. Some examples of assignments I developed include:
Prior to teaching my own course, I was a teaching assistant (TA) for several courses at Duke University. One of my more rewarding experiences was as a TA for a week long course to Puerto Rico in 2014 focused on highlighted basic field methods in hydrology and career options for 12 environmental engineering undergraduate students (see the website developed by students documenting the trip). In addition, I gained experience in larger classrooms through my role as a teaching assistant for Landscape Ecology (~30 Masters of Environmental Management students) and Microbiology (~50 undergraduate students).
Teacher Training & Goals
I strive to continually improve my teaching and mentorship abilities. At Duke University, I took advantage of the opportunity to earn a Certificate in College Teaching. This program offers pedagogical training on current best practices in teaching and learning. I completed both the Fundamentals of College Teaching and College Teaching and Course Design. These courses prepared me to design and teach my own course as the instructor of record. I believe they vastly improved my pedagogical knowledge, improving the teaching experience for both my students and myself. I hope to further pursue pedagogical training throughout my career to stay informed about and implement best teaching practices.
My roles as an environmental scientist and educator are intertwined. When I am not in the classroom, my fellow scientists teach me about their discoveries and I in turn teach them about mine. Then together, we find common inference to advance our collective understanding. I aim to bring this approach of collaborative learning into a classroom setting that is inclusive, transparent, and flexible. I believe that effective teaching incorporates not only lecturing in the classroom, but also frequent writing exercises, peer-to-peer communication, and solicitation and incorporation of student feedback throughout a course to ensure achievement of student learning objectives. My goal as a teacher is to provide an inclusive learning experience where students with diverse professional aspirations can improve their critical evaluation, writing, technical, and communication skills while mastering fundamental concepts in environmental science.
Discipline & Active Learning in Practice.
As a watershed biogeochemist, ecosystem ecologist, and environmental toxicologist, I believe I am most strongly suited to teach courses within those domains and connected disciplines. In 2017, I developed a four-week summer session Urban Ecology course designed to teach students about ecology and socio-ecological systems within urban areas. Throughout the course, students were repeatedly engaged in classroom activities which reinforced the concepts they learned through the assigned readings, short (20-minute) lectures, group discussions, and field trips. Each class period began with a quick review in which students shared with each other one thing they learned from the previous day in class, while each class ended with anonymous note cards in which each student wrote one thing they learned and one lingering question. This allowed me, as the instructor of record, to keep a pulse on what concepts the class was still struggling with and to improve comprehension of the course material by revisiting those concepts.
In order to establish assignment expectations and assessment transparency, each assignment throughout the course had an associated rubric. Some examples of assignments I developed include:
- To evaluate student comprehension of the assigned readings, each reading was accompanied by a short written “Muddiest Point Questions” assignment.
- To put concepts covered in class into a broader context, students selected news articles and wrote short descriptions relating it to the course.
- To promote recognition of careers that use urban ecology principles, students identified an urban practitioner (urban planner, landscape architect, scientist, etc) with a profile online and related their profession to the course.
Prior to teaching my own course, I was a teaching assistant (TA) for several courses at Duke University. One of my more rewarding experiences was as a TA for a week long course to Puerto Rico in 2014 focused on highlighted basic field methods in hydrology and career options for 12 environmental engineering undergraduate students (see the website developed by students documenting the trip). In addition, I gained experience in larger classrooms through my role as a teaching assistant for Landscape Ecology (~30 Masters of Environmental Management students) and Microbiology (~50 undergraduate students).
Teacher Training & Goals
I strive to continually improve my teaching and mentorship abilities. At Duke University, I took advantage of the opportunity to earn a Certificate in College Teaching. This program offers pedagogical training on current best practices in teaching and learning. I completed both the Fundamentals of College Teaching and College Teaching and Course Design. These courses prepared me to design and teach my own course as the instructor of record. I believe they vastly improved my pedagogical knowledge, improving the teaching experience for both my students and myself. I hope to further pursue pedagogical training throughout my career to stay informed about and implement best teaching practices.
