Teaching
As a teacher, I strive to engage students as active participants in the learning journey. I have reached out to students from a diversity of backgrounds, as I believe that science should be brought to many different audiences. My overall goal as a teacher is to help educate and inspire students to fulfill their academic and professional potentials. In my teaching, therefore, I aim to:
- Communicate course material and concepts in a clear and engaging way;
- Engage students in active learning over passive, lecture-based formats; and
- Encourage students to apply what they learn to address issues that are relevant to them.
My goal is to empower students to assess and think about general biology, ecology, environment and conservation, geography and statistics, encouraging them to consider a diversity of opinions and perspectives. I personally like to emphasize hands-on activities and field-based education opportunities including discussions, lab activities, and field exercises.
- Communicate course material and concepts in a clear and engaging way;
- Engage students in active learning over passive, lecture-based formats; and
- Encourage students to apply what they learn to address issues that are relevant to them.
My goal is to empower students to assess and think about general biology, ecology, environment and conservation, geography and statistics, encouraging them to consider a diversity of opinions and perspectives. I personally like to emphasize hands-on activities and field-based education opportunities including discussions, lab activities, and field exercises.
Teaching and mentoring experience
During my PhD at South Dakota State University, I had a one semester Teaching Assistantship, for the lab sessions of the course Biology Survey. It was an introductory biology course for non-biology majors, and I was in charge of teaching four weekly classes, with 15-20 students each. Each class comprised one small lecture and a practical activity, ranging from plant identification to a fetal pig dissection. Although I had to follow the course content, I always added my own twist in each class, encouraging the students to question concepts and think for themselves.
As a postdoctoral associate back at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil, I was in charge of creating the syllabus and teaching an undergraduate course on basic community ecology analyses, entitled Introduction to Biodiversity Studies. This course comprised not only basic concepts in biodiversity and community ecology, but also an introduction to R programming, very well received by the students. As a postdoctoral associate at the Geography Department in University of Colorado - Boulder, I co-taught the undergraduate course Global Change Ecology for a small class of 15 students, covering a vast range of subjects on anthropogenic change on natural systems. I was also the main instructor of Environmental Systems 1 - Climate and Vegetation for 150 students. In this course, I employed clicker technology, videos, field trips, and lab sections led by T.A.s. Students in this class were mostly freshman of different majors, and it was a rewarding experience to interact with such a diverse group. I had one particular student with a hearing disability, which presented me with a challenge and an opportunity to approach class preparation in a different way. I had to make sure my slides were visually engaging and self-explanatory, something I believe benefitted the class as a whole.
In 2018, I worked as Adjunct Faculty at the American University of Rome, a small U.S.-accredited Liberal Arts College located in Rome, Italy. There, I taught Environmental Science and Physical Geography for non-science majors. Classes were usually of 12 students, and I employed lab activities, movies and field trips, to which students responded very positively. I had students in majors such as archaeology and art history, and these courses were great opportunities to make non-science majors learn about subjects such as human population and Climate Change.
I am interested in teaching courses related to introductory environmental sciences, conservation ecology and biodiversity, scientific method, statistics, and spatial analysis. I would be thrilled to develop new curricula in any of these subjects, as well as expand on the existing courses. My background also allows me to teach introductory statistics and experimental design. Additionally, my contacts with my home Country, Brazil, would be perfect for potential Study Abroad courses in the tropical rainforest.