Teaching

I find teaching rewarding, and I have enjoyed diverse teaching opportunities. My approach to teaching is evidence-based, in that I incorporate best practices from the education literature, and process-oriented, in that I aim to help students understand the whole process of science, rather than just the outcomes.
I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm with students, and have received multiple awards for teaching. Examples of my teaching experiences include:

• Co-instructor for Animal Behavior, a ~100 person course
  
• TA for Animal Behavior labs, General Biology labs, and Genetics
  
• Curriculum development for labs and teachable units
• Instructor for the Ants of the Southwest undergrad and grad level field course

Mentoring

Zach Dix with me in the field at Biosphere 2

Jenna Bilek studies urban ants

Mentoring is a vital component of the scientific process, and like other aspects of science, it’s a skill that can be improved. I’ve put a lot of effort into developing as a mentor. This includes taking a semester-long course on mentorship and leadership, which I then led the following year. With other course leaders and participants, I published original research on mentoring in STEM (paper link here). I’ve enjoyed working in the field and in the lab with undergraduate research assistants, who make important contributions to my work!