Teaching Statement:
Science is fundamentally based upon inquiry and curiosity. Teaching science should likewise aspire to both develop skills to inform inquiry and stimulate curiosity. By stimulating curiosity for the natural world and simultaneously developing skills to direct that curiosity through scientific inquiry, I aim to develop students into scientists who are able to study topics that matter to them on a personal level. Three core concepts and experiences drive my teaching—1. My experiences working in conservation in the field, 2. The interface between conservation, basic science, and culture, and 3. Striving to find personal and place-based cultural context of science. Regardless of whether students ultimately pursue a career in science, I believe that stimulating curiosity and understanding scientific inquiry can develop academic community members and global citizens with a heightened appreciation for the world in which they live. While helping students become better scientists is an ultimate goal, I hope to teach in a way that offers something to students with diverse interests and passions.
My teaching is strongly rooted in my own personal background and experiences working in the field as a natural resource manager. I spent several years managing endangered plant species for the Oahu Army Natural Resources Program and for the State of Hawaii’s Plant Extinction Prevention Program. My favorite part of being a Natural Resource Manager is the process of visiting a site with conservation goals in mind, making decisions about management in the field on the fly, and adapting that approach through time based on results. I bring my love for that process to my teaching—while adaptive management may not be a feasible approach in my scientific research, it is a great way for students to approach learning. Students in my classes will approach inquiry in this way allowing for exploration of both basic and applied topics.
Working in conservation in Hawaii, I was exposed to a complicated interface between culture and science. Many in the conservation community in Hawaii care deeply about the perpetuation and expression of Hawaiian cultural values. However, though scientists want to improve the local environment and have positive conservation goals, they often do so without considering the cultural context. This rift leads to groups with goals that are very similar working against each other when they should be cooperating. I believe my exposure to and awareness of this situation drives what I strive for as a teacher—bridging the gap between students’ personal cultural context and science. In my classes, students find connections between their cultural background and the scientific course material, leading to more meaningful understanding and retention of course material.
Cultural context drives my teaching in other ways. The concept of malama aina, taking care of our land, is crucial to the Hawaiian culture. I believe that my passion for that concept drives my teaching and I hope my belief in taking care of and understanding the earth leads to positive teaching outcomes in biology. Much of my experience in teaching has been in the field mentoring student groups and interns and exposing them to how biology is applied as conservation. In the process of those interactions, I have worked with a wide array of students drawn from Hawaii’s ethnically and culturally diverse population. I have connected with students in caring for the shared ecosystems we called home. I have come to realize that while I am not ethnically Hawaiian, I am also local, and there is no other place I can call home. I am not native Hawaiian, but there is no other culture that is more a part of me. I have lived and learned in many other places, adding layers of place and cultural influences to my background, which has only helped me understand my own cultural context better. This strong connection to place has driven me to pursue conservation and science, and it is with that background that I approach all of my teaching. When so many disparate ethnic and culture groups all are forced to call the same place home, a different kind of relationship to that natural world can develop. I found a common love and understanding of the physical environment we share to be a strong binding force. As a teacher, I hope to extend those connections in a way that relates to students that all share the communal ecosystem of our planet. As an ecologist, understanding the way species (including but not limited to humans) and our environments interact is essential to finding ways to better take care of our own global ecosystems. As a teacher, I strive to not only present material in a scientifically sound manner, but also in a way that is relevant to our day to day lives inhabiting in a world we all live in, impact, and hopefully enjoy now and in the future.
Science is fundamentally based upon inquiry and curiosity. Teaching science should likewise aspire to both develop skills to inform inquiry and stimulate curiosity. By stimulating curiosity for the natural world and simultaneously developing skills to direct that curiosity through scientific inquiry, I aim to develop students into scientists who are able to study topics that matter to them on a personal level. Three core concepts and experiences drive my teaching—1. My experiences working in conservation in the field, 2. The interface between conservation, basic science, and culture, and 3. Striving to find personal and place-based cultural context of science. Regardless of whether students ultimately pursue a career in science, I believe that stimulating curiosity and understanding scientific inquiry can develop academic community members and global citizens with a heightened appreciation for the world in which they live. While helping students become better scientists is an ultimate goal, I hope to teach in a way that offers something to students with diverse interests and passions.
My teaching is strongly rooted in my own personal background and experiences working in the field as a natural resource manager. I spent several years managing endangered plant species for the Oahu Army Natural Resources Program and for the State of Hawaii’s Plant Extinction Prevention Program. My favorite part of being a Natural Resource Manager is the process of visiting a site with conservation goals in mind, making decisions about management in the field on the fly, and adapting that approach through time based on results. I bring my love for that process to my teaching—while adaptive management may not be a feasible approach in my scientific research, it is a great way for students to approach learning. Students in my classes will approach inquiry in this way allowing for exploration of both basic and applied topics.
Working in conservation in Hawaii, I was exposed to a complicated interface between culture and science. Many in the conservation community in Hawaii care deeply about the perpetuation and expression of Hawaiian cultural values. However, though scientists want to improve the local environment and have positive conservation goals, they often do so without considering the cultural context. This rift leads to groups with goals that are very similar working against each other when they should be cooperating. I believe my exposure to and awareness of this situation drives what I strive for as a teacher—bridging the gap between students’ personal cultural context and science. In my classes, students find connections between their cultural background and the scientific course material, leading to more meaningful understanding and retention of course material.
Cultural context drives my teaching in other ways. The concept of malama aina, taking care of our land, is crucial to the Hawaiian culture. I believe that my passion for that concept drives my teaching and I hope my belief in taking care of and understanding the earth leads to positive teaching outcomes in biology. Much of my experience in teaching has been in the field mentoring student groups and interns and exposing them to how biology is applied as conservation. In the process of those interactions, I have worked with a wide array of students drawn from Hawaii’s ethnically and culturally diverse population. I have connected with students in caring for the shared ecosystems we called home. I have come to realize that while I am not ethnically Hawaiian, I am also local, and there is no other place I can call home. I am not native Hawaiian, but there is no other culture that is more a part of me. I have lived and learned in many other places, adding layers of place and cultural influences to my background, which has only helped me understand my own cultural context better. This strong connection to place has driven me to pursue conservation and science, and it is with that background that I approach all of my teaching. When so many disparate ethnic and culture groups all are forced to call the same place home, a different kind of relationship to that natural world can develop. I found a common love and understanding of the physical environment we share to be a strong binding force. As a teacher, I hope to extend those connections in a way that relates to students that all share the communal ecosystem of our planet. As an ecologist, understanding the way species (including but not limited to humans) and our environments interact is essential to finding ways to better take care of our own global ecosystems. As a teacher, I strive to not only present material in a scientifically sound manner, but also in a way that is relevant to our day to day lives inhabiting in a world we all live in, impact, and hopefully enjoy now and in the future.