I have taught both introductory and upper-level classes in both physics and astronomy, as well as a pedagogy course new astronomy PhD students. All of my classes are designed around the principles of practical experience, Universal Design, and active learning.

Introductory Classes

Since few students in introductory classes ever expect to take any other astronomy classes, I choose to focus my curriculum more on practical astronomy rather than academic astronomy. One of my main goals was that the students be able to point out something cool in the night sky, so I give regular stargazing assignments to encourage students to become familiar with the stars, planets, and constellations. When course conditions permit, I also supplement these assignments with outdoor sessions to apply stargazing concepts we discussed in class in a real night sky environment.

Another of my goals is to provide enough background to allow students to engage closely with astronomy news they encountered. The academic astronomy content I present is geared towards the subjects that are often written about in the media, giving them the tools to evaluate the articles they found on those subjects, and one of my final project options allows them to apply these skills.

My homework assignments and worksheets emphasize knowledge transfer between different topics in the class, connecting different units that shared common concepts. I also encourage students to learn from their mistakes by allowing them to resubmit their old homework assignments after correcting their work. I have also taught "Extraterrestrial Life," an astrobiology-flavored introductory astronomy course. Beyond normal basic astronomy topics, this class also covers planetary science, geology, molecular biology, and philosophy, all with the goal of estimating each term in the Drake Equation to figure out howm much life there is in our galaxy. This spring at Juniata I will be adapting this class to be a discussion-oriented first-year seminar.

Advanced Classes

While I keep all of my same course policies for advanced classes, upper-level students, many of whom are declared physics or astronomy majors, require increased expectations. One essential skill for a physicist or astronomer is the ability to convey their ideas clearly and professionally, so I place great importance on the quality of writeups, incentivizing students to turn in well-crafted solution sets rather than hastily-written answer sheets. I give students example writeups to base their work on, increasing the value of presentation throughout the class to allow them to learn in a low-stakes environment before applying their knowledge.

My upper level assessments are also meant to mimic the environment of professional physicists and astronomers, who must answer off-the-wall audience questions at talks far more often than they solve contrived problems in a closed-note written environment. I give oral exams to my students, giving them a chance to show the depth of their comprehension in real time and giving me the opportunity to evaluate their learning and expertise holistically.

I have implemented these policies in two upper-level astronomy electives at Colby, and I will use them again in my Modern Physics class at Juniata this year.

Pedagogical Publications

I have published two pedagogical articles in peer-reviewed publications on physics education. The first is an article about using the video game Kerbal Space Program to teach orbital mechanics in an introductory astronomy environment, using the physics simulation of the game to build student intution for Kepler's laws using in-class demonstrations and long-term class projects. This paper has been accepted by The Physics Teacher.

The second paper is a description of the oral exam methods I use in upper-level courses for majors. These exams are designed to minimize the bias that plagues traditional oral exams while assessing students in a format that is much more common in professional academia. Student have expressed an increase in confidence in their oral communication skills and their real-time problem solving in the physics and astronomy courses I have used them in. This paper has been accepted by the American Journal of Physics

Universal Design for Learning

I follow the framework of Universal Design for Learning to make my courses as accessible as possible to all different kinds of learners. Using what I learned as a Graduate Pedagogy Fellow at UCSC's Teaching & Learning Center, I crafted course policies that avoid placing burden on students that required accomodations.

Though there is obviously always work to be done with being more accomodating, I was proud that when a student asked for over a dozen different accomodations in my first class, I didn't have to change anything about my course design to meet their needs. That student then praised my course's accessibility at the end of the term.

Active Learning

I base my classes on the concept of active learning, doing everything I can to center the content on the student rather than the lecturer. In my introductory astronomy class, I planned worksheets and physics demonstrations for every class day so that students had opportunities to experience the material for themselves and apply their knowledge in real time.

I also assigned final projects that allow students to engage with astronomy concepts in ways that appeal to their personal interests. From journalism to video games to creative work, I allowed students to explore astronomy from whatever angle resonated with them the most.

For my graduate pedagogy classes, I center the course around projects for applying teaching concepts in environments similar to a real classroom. Students design and deliver lesson plans, worksheets, and lectures to the class and receive real-time feedback to improve their teaching.

Other Teaching Experience

  • Scientific Computing in Python: I designed and taught a class on modern techniques for modeling scientific data. I created iPython notebooks for teaching concepts in loading and cleaning data, fitting models, and Bayesian statistics in an interdisciplinary project-oriented class. This was based on earlier lessons I made for the Lamat Summer REU at UCSC.
  • Astronomy Department TA: I served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate classes at UCSC. I led mandatory TA sections using the principles of active learning, creating worksheets for students to complete in groups and discussing the answers as a class. I also TAed for an upper level class on stars, leading optional homework help sections.
  • Head TA: I served as the Head Teaching Assistant for the astronomy department for the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school years. In this position, I settled disputes between professors and their TAs, mediated between the department and TAs during a university-wide strike, and helped professors and TAs transition to online learning at the beginning of quarantine.