Department(s)
Science
Education & Experience
• BS in Biology, Cleveland State University
• PhD in Biology, Cleveland State University
• Teaching Since: 2002
• With WTMA Since: 2021
Courses Taught
Bio
Science has been an interest of mine since grade school, and my love of animals led me to major in biology when I started college at Cleveland State University. With my first botany class, I discovered plants even more fascinating than animals, so I decided to focus my studies on botany, rather than zoology. I added a minor in education to my studies, so that I could teach science.
While researching how plants allocate their resources to different forms of reproduction for my doctorate, I taught plant biology lab, human biology lab, genetics recitation, Biology for Middle School Teachers lab, and Ecology lab. These experiences confirmed that teaching was the best career choice for me.
After earning my PhD, I taught at Cleveland State and the local (Tuscarawas County) campus of Kent State University. I have taught a variety of in-person classes at the college level, including Human Biology; the Living World; Human Genetics, Reproduction and Development; Plant Biology; Environmental Science; Biology Seminar; and Life on Planet Earth. After taking a few workshops about online teaching, I taught an online version of the Living World course at CSU. I am excited to be teaching younger students now, and hope I can inspire a life-long love of science and biology in my middle school students!
I live near Ohio’s beautiful Amish Country with my husband, son, dog, and bird. For fun, I enjoy running, knitting and crocheting, reading, cooking, and going for walks and spending time with “My Boys” (husband, son and dog).
On Teaching: When I teach biology, I stress that biology, like all sciences, is a dynamic process, not just a stagnant pile of facts students have to memorize. I want students to relate the scientific processes they are learning about to the real world. I believe that students understand and remember biology better when they can see it working in their daily lives. During lectures, students are routinely asked questions, so that they activate what they’ve learned and work to synthesize knowledge. Interactions between students and hands-on activities play key roles in my classroom.
Teaching Sample
Question and Answer
Q: What type of student would find your class especially enjoyable or benefit the most from your style of teaching?
A:
Students who are curious about the living world around them will enjoy my classes because we learn about many different types of living things and how they work. My classes would also be beneficial to students who want to learn about science and learn how to think like a scientist by carrying out scientific experiments.
Q: What do you like about teaching students online?
A:
One of the things I love about teaching on-line is that I have students from all over the country and, in some cases, all over the world. Many times when we are talking about a ecosystem or type of organism that I (and possibly many of my students) have never seen in person, a student will volunteer “We have that where I live!” The student can then talk about what they know about it. This enriches the learning experience of the student, who is able to apply their real world experience to what they are learning about. It’s also beneficial to their classmates, who realize that what we are talking about is really out there and not just in their biology textbook.
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