PI Teaching & Mentorship

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn" Benjamin Franklin

As a teacher, I always ask myself why students should come to my class. The most critical element in a classroom is the interaction among students and the engagement with the instructor. Every class is a new opportunity to engage students and make them interested in a subject. I achieve that through my enthusiasm for entomology and genetics.

My Teaching Approach:

• Creating the best possible environment: The classroom should be a safe and productive space where students feel important and their opinions matter
• Providing multiple ways of understanding: Some students learn faster with visual aids, others by reading or listening
• Facilitating learning, not lecturing: Students should learn facts and be encouraged to create hypotheses, interpret data, and draw conclusions
• Learning by doing: In ENTM 202L, graduate students master cutting-edge molecular techniques from HMW-DNA extraction to phylogenetic analysis, building confidence through hands-on experience

Key Practices:

• Providing all materials online at least two days before class
• Using different assessment methods to evaluate learning
• Being approachable through office hours and quick email responses

Teachers are not only responsible for teaching about science but also for helping build great citizens. My teaching style requires a lot of upfront work and dedication. However, I want to be like the great professor who changed how I thought about science and motivated me to become a teacher. Hopefully, I can make a difference in someone's life.