Teaching
I have taught astronomy to audiences ranging from non-STEM undergraduates to graduate students, and I have trained in evidence-based, inclusive teaching through two cycles of the ISEE Professional Development Program (PDP), a long-running program that prepares early-career scientists to teach, mentor, and lead. These are the practices I bring to the classroom.
Student-Centered, Inquiry-Based Learning
I design activities where students investigate rather than follow step-by-step instructions, practicing authentic scientific skills such as reasoning from evidence and working with models. For a PDP module on light curves I co-designed, students worked directly with real data from the 1-m Nickel telescope and eVscope telescopes, with my role centered on guiding their inquiry rather than lecturing.
Inclusive Teaching
I build learning experiences that are accessible to students from a range of backgrounds and preparation levels, including community college students and non-STEM majors. My teaching at UC Riverside was recognized with the UCR Graduate Division's Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award (2023).
Teaching Across Levels
I have led discussion sections for general astronomy courses with ~100 non-STEM majors, run physics labs for ~30 engineering and pre-medical students, taught 15 community college students at Lick Observatory, and guest-lectured a graduate course at UT Austin (AST386C, Properties of Galaxies) on galaxy structure and AGN feedback.
Collaborative Course Design & Leadership
In 2026, I returned to the PDP as a Team Leader, guiding a team of early-career scientists to co-design and co-teach an activity on Nyquist sampling for 12 undergraduates in the UT Austin Astronomy summer research program. The role involved facilitating team meetings, drawing on each member's strengths, and making design decisions as a group.
Courses taught as a Teaching Assistant, UC Riverside (2021–2024)
- PHYS 020, Exploring the Universe and PHYS 006, The Violent Universe: discussion sections for non-STEM majors
- PHYS 040A/B/C and PHYS 02LB, General Physics: laboratory sections for pre-med and engineering majors, covering mechanics, thermodynamics, waves, and electromagnetism