Experience Summary
During the last eight years I have been affiliated with Florida International University, first as a master's student, then a PhD student, and now as a post-doctoral researcher in the biology department. As a graduate student at FIU, I taught biology labs for science majors, and I spent a year tutoring high school students in preparation for the SAT. I have also worked as a mentor to students in Latin America, serving as an advisor for their undergraduate honors theses.
Teaching Style
My teaching style is really an extension of my personality. As a teacher I maintain a relaxed, collaborative educational environment, but one where expectations are high. I try to make students move beyond memorization and get them to understand the task at hand. As a science teacher my goal was to make students think 'biologically', seeing the natural world as a place full of creative solutions to difficult problems. Working with high school students as a test preparation tutor, my goals were more practical and measurable (i.e, to increase their test scores), but my approach, involving collaboration and a shared perspective, was similar to that in the science classroom.