Teaching Evaluations

During my final semester as a TA in Boston College, I was invited as a guest lecturer to explain the science behind hydraulic fracking to an environmental law and policy class. I provided technical knowledge to JD students.

Teaching Responsibilities

As a Teaching Assistant at Boston College Earth and Environmental Science department I was responsible for teaching labs and guiding discussions/field trips in 6 geology/geophysics courses with up to 110 students enrolled. I assisted professors researching news and developing stories related to topics discussed in lecture, selecting audiovisual content, and offering technological setup for lectures.

In some of the classes I was in charge with 30% of the students' final grade and I was given a list of topics from the professor with the concepts the students should be familiar with by the end of the course. I structured the labs/discussions around the lectures emphasizing the concepts highlighted by the professors. I made syllabuses with a timeline for all weekly activities including attendance/grading policy and I crafted either lab experiments or discussion activities by conducting independent research on topics covered during lecture. I had ready a draft for a week's activity a week before it was due allowing sufficient time for the professor to revise or modify and then I carried along the activities with little supervision.

During field trips I helped with logistics and budgeting prior the trip, maintaining discipline and safe work conditions during field activities, and helped with clean up and making follow up questions for the students after each trip. For lab experiments, I made sure students were familiar with lab equipment, understand what was going to be done by sharpening observation and analytical skills, and also made them comfortable and confident on their capabilities by offering consulting prior and during the experiment, also I made sure all experimentations were conducted independently on a safe environment.

CV

Teaching Philosophy

After being a teaching assistant in Boston College's Earth and Environmental Science department for three years I developed a dynamic teaching style based on empathy and curiosity that I believe is adequate to teach young college students. To me teaching is about establishing a personal connection, expose facts, and encourage reasoning. To teach the science of geophysics I start with understanding what my students personal goals and objectives are (what are their goals and motivations?). Then, I connect with my students by selecting industry problems that tap on their objectives while explaining the necessary tools to solve them (tools usually defined with math and physics). Finally, I guide them towards some of the existing solutions using developing news or case scenarios to show them the worth of their knowledge when applied in a variety of common scenarios. I believe this is the best way to teach sciences as it keeps matters simple yet, as curiosity develops, more facts are given and a more robust reasoning takes place. This is my own personal approach developed after 3 years of teaching undergraduates in the classrooms, laboratories, and even during field expeditions.

As long as it is possible, I believe that a  personal connection with students is key for a rewarding learning experience. However, when dealing with large classes where a one on one interaction is not plausible, I strive to maintain succinct lectures while always taking into consideration the level of knowledge of my audience.

My teaching philosophy is thus a dynamic process where I take into consideration students' goals and adapt lectures to current case scenarios. I found out that this often leads to engaging and fruitful discussions that mix science, business, and politics both inside and outside the classrooms. I believe any discipline should be taught by a holistic approach switching between facts and application on an ongoing basis.