Educational Philosophy

I chose to leave a plum government research job in Hawaii (and some of the best surfing in the world!) and return to academia because I thoroughly love teaching and working with students. I especially enjoy helping students understand, appreciate, and protect the wonders of the natural world while learning how to think and communicate clearly.

 As a teacher I am primarily interested in students understanding concepts and general organizing principles rather than memorizing a series of facts for later regurgitation. I also strive to help students develop their basic thinking, writing, and speaking skills while learning to at least understand points of view that may differ radically from their own.

I am a long-time proponent of more holistic educational models and try to combine conventional, narrowly-focused academic studies with alternative pedagogical approaches that utilize multidisciplinary frameworks, experiential learning, and/or service projects. Whenever possible, I prefer to be the "Guide on the Side" rather than the "Sage on the Stage."

While I am sensitive to the fact that students enter college with widely varying backgrounds and skills, I do not believe in teaching at the level of the lowest common denominator. Indeed, as an undergraduate, I became truly fascinated and academically motivated only after I realized that everything was not already known, and that I could make an original contribution by performing new research, synthesizing and analyzing existing information, and making connections between seemingly disparate ideas and disciplines.

 

Back To:

Cabin's Homepage

Division of Environmental Studies, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences                   

Brevard College

 

 

This page last modified on 10/27/2005