Students learn best when they show up as themselves.

An Inclusive Learning Environment

All students are welcome in my classroom. Students arrive with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking, and these differences strengthen the learning experience for everyone. I strive to create a space where students feel comfortable asking questions, expressing uncertainty, and engaging with challenging material. Respectful discourse and mutual support are foundational to effective learning and scientific inquiry.

I do not believe students are uninterested in learning. When they have a chance to do hands-on work and to share what they have learned in front of other people, the real person comes through. They show what they are curious about, and they express their identities to the class and to me. That is the student I want to teach.

Active Participation and Engagement

Learning is not limited to mastering course content. It also involves understanding the perspectives of fellow classmates and applying knowledge to real world problems. I encourage active participation through discussion, collaborative activities, and problem solving exercises that require students to engage with both the material and one another. By hearing how peers approach the same question from different backgrounds and experiences, students gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the subject.

Active engagement helps students move beyond memorization toward synthesis and application. Through discussion, group work, and presentations, students practice translating theoretical concepts into practical insights, mirroring how scientific and professional challenges are addressed outside the classroom. This approach builds critical thinking skills, strengthens communication, and prepares students to work effectively in interdisciplinary and collaborative environments.

Presenting and communicating information is truly important, even in a world of artificial intelligence. That is why I build presentations into my courses. Making a video to share with classmates pushes students to organize what they know, and it gets them comfortable presenting virtually and to a wider audience.

Learning to Read Science

Learning science means learning to read it, and that is hard for students who have not yet had to stick to a schedule and work through scientific literature. Primary articles are scary at first: a wall of dense, technical text. But if students put in the work and read the whole thing, they can understand it, and they come away with insights they might not have had otherwise.

I think modern courses have to combine traditional academic learning and reading with modern ways of communicating. The reading gives students something worth saying, and the presenting shows them whether they understood it. In my IPM course, for many students this is among the first times they have spent a real amount of time with primary articles, which is exactly why I build the course around them.

Teaching and Learning in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

What worries me most is not that students struggle. It is that some of them stop engaging with the content at all. They engage with AI instead, asking it to complete assignments for them, and I end up grading a conversation between a student and a chatbot.

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into education and research, it is essential to reaffirm the value of human interaction in the learning process. While AI tools can support learning, analysis, and efficiency, they cannot replace the intellectual growth that comes from discussion, debate, and face to face scientific communication. I place particular emphasis on in person interaction, presentations, and the clear communication of ideas, as these skills are critical for scientific collaboration, professional development, and responsible use of emerging technologies.