Teaching Statement

Excerpt:

“I ascribe to the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) model rather than the STEM model. I believe incorporating arts with sciences serves several purposes. Teaching students to use different modes of expression, including writing, photography, and video, fosters their science communication skills. This allows them to tell the story of their own future scientific endeavors to a variety of audiences, instead of relying on others to do so. I have met many students who believe choosing science careers mean they need only foster quantitative skills. I continually aim to challenge this viewpoint during my time in lecture, lab, and through assignments. The use of arts within STEM also creates ‘well-rounded and creative scientists’ (Segarra et al. 2018) who can access unique ways of problem solving and viewing the world.”