Teaching

I believe that the foundation of science education should be teaching problem solving though critical thinking. Therefore, my primary goal as an educator and an adviser is to use expertise in my field, sedimentology and tectonics, to create a learning environment focused on observation and discussion that leads to evidence based interpretations regardless of the specific field of application. My approach to this is shaped by the example of a number of excellent educators who I have worked with, and been advised by, through my own education and early career. From my early experience in the small, undergraduate-only department of Trinity University, through my grad school experience in the relatively small, highly research focused department at Stanford University to my postdoctoral experience in the large Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas, the common thread for successful educators and mentors is always engagement and flexibility. Educators must be engaged with their subject matter and students and flexible in their presentation and discussion.