Teaching activities
Below are short descriptions regarding the following teaching activities:
Undergraduate courses taught at California State University, Long Beach
Comparative Animal Physiology (BIOL 345), Instructor of Record: 2017 - 2019
Focus: Comparison of fundamental physiological processes of major animal phyla.
Duties: I redesigned the Comparative Animal Physiology lecture to encompass modern pedagogy to improve students' comprehension of the interdisciplinary and synergistic nature of physiology. The course takes a student-centered learning approach that supplements the traditional lecture with multiple pedagogical approaches including multiple forms of assessment and active learning (e.g., Plickers, quizzes, in-class assignments). Core concepts in evolution, structure and function, energetic pathways and transformations, and systems are discussed and then explored through the development of core competencies in quantitative reasoning (e.g., by working through mathematical relationships in physiology), interdisciplinary evaluations of biological processes (e.g., by transferring their knowledge from their past work in chemistry to understand biochemical processes within physiology), collaboration (e.g., by working in groups to solve problems on their in-class assignments), and applying science to resolve problems in society (e.g., applying physiological principles to manage wild populations through our Conservation Physiology focus).
Laboratory in Comparative Animal Physiology (BIOL 345L), Instructor of Record: 2017 - 2019
Focus: Laboratory course acquaints students with direct observation and measurement of physiological processes in various animal groups, both invertebrate and vertebrate.
Duties: I am redesigning the Laboratory component of Comparative Animal Physiology by updating the course material with more inquiry-based activities, updating the equipment available to conduct their experiments, and shifting the focus to non-human animals. Students learn physiological concepts through computer simulations, dissections, and lab bench techniques.
Undergraduate courses taught at Clemson University
Vertebrate Biology lab (BIOL 3070) teaching assistant: 2008 - 2013
Focus: Comparative and phylogenetic study of the gross morphology of vertebrates.
Duties: As the lead teaching assistant for four consecutive years, I worked in tandem with the lab coordinator to orchestrate twelve lab sections for over 220 undergraduate majors. Through my role as the lead teaching assistant (TA), I was heavily involved with course development, and supervising teaching activities. I supervised and trained over a dozen graduate TA's; prepared laboratory handouts; coordinated with museum curators and the lab supervisor on developing the curriculum with collections-based activities; prepared Powerpoint presentations, quizzes, practice exams, and lab practical exams; ran weekly labs; set up lab material each week; developed and managed an undergraduate TA evaluation process and wrote summary evaluations for each TA; and graded term papers, quizzes, and practical exams. Consequently, I was later recruited to assist the Vertebrate Biology instructor and teaching assistant at Tri County Technical College, as part of the Clemson Bridge Program to facilitate students transferring from a technical school to a four-year university. In addition, I trained the next lead TA and two assistant TAs, and was a standard TA for two years.
Mammalogy lab (BIOL 4641) teaching assistant: 2013
Focus: Origin, evolution, distribution, structure, and function of mammals, with laboratory emphasis on the mammals of the Southeast.
Duties: I worked directly with the lab coordinator and natural history museum curator to integrate collections-based activities to demonstrate the diversity of mammals, and teach transferable skills in wildlife identification to facilitate majors. I also assisted with curriculum reform to improve student learning, and reinforce biological concepts through flipped classrooms.
Comparative Vertebrate Morphology lab (BIOL 4090) teaching assistant: 2011 - 2012
Focus: Comparative anatomy of representative vertebrates; methods used in preparing specimens for study and display.
Duties: I developed Powerpoint presentations to synthesize major learning goals and concepts for each lesson plan, created laboratory handouts to augment their traditional laboratory manual, and worked with the natural history museum curator to incorporate a collections-based activity to demonstrate the skeletal diversity of vertebrates to the students. I also modified teaching practices to provide more individualized instruction to facilitate student learning, including working with students one-on-one, leading team-based activities, and accommodating students with additional instructional time through 'open lab' sessions.
Comparative Physiology lab (BIOL 4760) teaching assistant: 2009
Focus: Physiological systems of invertebrates and vertebrates emphasizing environmental adaptation. Physiological principles as they relate to metabolism, thermoregulation, osmoregulation, respiration, and neural and integrative physiology. Modern classical experimental methods are used to demonstrate fundamental physiological principles. Introduces students to computer-aided data acquisition and manipulation as well as computer simulations of physiological function.
Duties: I worked with another graduate TA to assist the lab coordinator with supervising three weekly lab sections, and reviewed/created/edited/distributed lab syllabus, lab report rubric and guidelines, and lab handouts; and graded lab reports, quizzes, lab practicals, and presentations. Lab exercises gave hands-on experience with exploring concepts presented in lecture. Material involved learning techniques involving respirometry, muscle physiology, kinematics, electromyography, and force transducers.
Comparative Animal Physiology (BIOL 345), Instructor of Record: 2017 - 2019
Focus: Comparison of fundamental physiological processes of major animal phyla.
Duties: I redesigned the Comparative Animal Physiology lecture to encompass modern pedagogy to improve students' comprehension of the interdisciplinary and synergistic nature of physiology. The course takes a student-centered learning approach that supplements the traditional lecture with multiple pedagogical approaches including multiple forms of assessment and active learning (e.g., Plickers, quizzes, in-class assignments). Core concepts in evolution, structure and function, energetic pathways and transformations, and systems are discussed and then explored through the development of core competencies in quantitative reasoning (e.g., by working through mathematical relationships in physiology), interdisciplinary evaluations of biological processes (e.g., by transferring their knowledge from their past work in chemistry to understand biochemical processes within physiology), collaboration (e.g., by working in groups to solve problems on their in-class assignments), and applying science to resolve problems in society (e.g., applying physiological principles to manage wild populations through our Conservation Physiology focus).
Laboratory in Comparative Animal Physiology (BIOL 345L), Instructor of Record: 2017 - 2019
Focus: Laboratory course acquaints students with direct observation and measurement of physiological processes in various animal groups, both invertebrate and vertebrate.
Duties: I am redesigning the Laboratory component of Comparative Animal Physiology by updating the course material with more inquiry-based activities, updating the equipment available to conduct their experiments, and shifting the focus to non-human animals. Students learn physiological concepts through computer simulations, dissections, and lab bench techniques.
Undergraduate courses taught at Clemson University
Vertebrate Biology lab (BIOL 3070) teaching assistant: 2008 - 2013
Focus: Comparative and phylogenetic study of the gross morphology of vertebrates.
Duties: As the lead teaching assistant for four consecutive years, I worked in tandem with the lab coordinator to orchestrate twelve lab sections for over 220 undergraduate majors. Through my role as the lead teaching assistant (TA), I was heavily involved with course development, and supervising teaching activities. I supervised and trained over a dozen graduate TA's; prepared laboratory handouts; coordinated with museum curators and the lab supervisor on developing the curriculum with collections-based activities; prepared Powerpoint presentations, quizzes, practice exams, and lab practical exams; ran weekly labs; set up lab material each week; developed and managed an undergraduate TA evaluation process and wrote summary evaluations for each TA; and graded term papers, quizzes, and practical exams. Consequently, I was later recruited to assist the Vertebrate Biology instructor and teaching assistant at Tri County Technical College, as part of the Clemson Bridge Program to facilitate students transferring from a technical school to a four-year university. In addition, I trained the next lead TA and two assistant TAs, and was a standard TA for two years.
Mammalogy lab (BIOL 4641) teaching assistant: 2013
Focus: Origin, evolution, distribution, structure, and function of mammals, with laboratory emphasis on the mammals of the Southeast.
Duties: I worked directly with the lab coordinator and natural history museum curator to integrate collections-based activities to demonstrate the diversity of mammals, and teach transferable skills in wildlife identification to facilitate majors. I also assisted with curriculum reform to improve student learning, and reinforce biological concepts through flipped classrooms.
Comparative Vertebrate Morphology lab (BIOL 4090) teaching assistant: 2011 - 2012
Focus: Comparative anatomy of representative vertebrates; methods used in preparing specimens for study and display.
Duties: I developed Powerpoint presentations to synthesize major learning goals and concepts for each lesson plan, created laboratory handouts to augment their traditional laboratory manual, and worked with the natural history museum curator to incorporate a collections-based activity to demonstrate the skeletal diversity of vertebrates to the students. I also modified teaching practices to provide more individualized instruction to facilitate student learning, including working with students one-on-one, leading team-based activities, and accommodating students with additional instructional time through 'open lab' sessions.
Comparative Physiology lab (BIOL 4760) teaching assistant: 2009
Focus: Physiological systems of invertebrates and vertebrates emphasizing environmental adaptation. Physiological principles as they relate to metabolism, thermoregulation, osmoregulation, respiration, and neural and integrative physiology. Modern classical experimental methods are used to demonstrate fundamental physiological principles. Introduces students to computer-aided data acquisition and manipulation as well as computer simulations of physiological function.
Duties: I worked with another graduate TA to assist the lab coordinator with supervising three weekly lab sections, and reviewed/created/edited/distributed lab syllabus, lab report rubric and guidelines, and lab handouts; and graded lab reports, quizzes, lab practicals, and presentations. Lab exercises gave hands-on experience with exploring concepts presented in lecture. Material involved learning techniques involving respirometry, muscle physiology, kinematics, electromyography, and force transducers.
Guest Lectures
Royal Veterinary College (UK) - Comparative Animal Locomotion Module: 2016
1) Aquatic locomotion and ecomechanics.
Clemson University (USA) - Mammalogy (BIOL 4640): 2013
1) Structure and anatomy, and 2) Locomotion.
Clemson University (USA) - Vertebrate Biology (BIOL 3030): 2012
1) Bird diversity.
Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (Canada) - Biomechanics: 2010
1) Unsteady locomotion - fish escape responses.
Mentorship of Student Researchers
Graduate Researchers
- Kevin Travis (CSULB, Master's expected 2020): Locomotor biomechanics of 'walking' epaulette sharks.
- Ben Perlman (Wake Forest University, Ph.D. 2015): Jumping kinetics of bass and mangrove killifish; Co-mentors: Miriam Ashley-Ross, Richard Blob; postdoc with Dr. Manny Azizi at UC Irvine.
California State University, Long Beach (USA) - Undergraduate Researchers
- Katie Kern (2019): Comparative animal physiology in the teaching labs. BIOL 496.
- Jackie Macias (2018 - 2019): 3D anatomy of armored mammals visualized through micro-CT imaging. Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (http://web.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/research/students/urop/).
- Kevin Martinez (2017 - 2018): Evaluating the relationship between locomotion and bone geometry in salamanders. BIOL 496 Undergraduate Directed Research and the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (https://web.csulb.edu/colleges/cnsm/sas/lsamp/).
- Dahlia Neri (2018 - 2019): Diversity in bone morphology and material properties across salamanders. BIOL 496 Undergraduate Directed Research.
- Miles Valencia (2017 - 2019; CSULB, B.S. in Biology Education 2018): Comparison of forelimb kinematics between semi-aquatic and predominantly terrestrial salamanders. BIOL 496 Undergraduate Directed Research, and then a University-approved volunteer in the lab as a post-baccalaureate student researcher. Master's student in Angela Horner's lab at CSU San Bernardino, as of 9/1/19.
Clemson University (USA) - Undergraduate Research in Biological Sciences (BIOL 4910)
- Megan Gregory (2013): Kinematics of the forelimb of Ambystoma tigrinum during terrestrial locomotion.
- Patrick McGarity (2012-2013): Kinematic differences between the forelimb and hind limb in A. tigrinum salamanders during terrestrial locomotion.
- Beckie Nelson (2011-2013): Comparison of kinematics and duty factor between A. tigrinum salamanders and Periophthalmus barbarus mudskippers during terrestrial locomotion.
- David Boerma (2012): Kinematics of the forelimb of A. tigrinum during terrestrial locomotion. Currently a Ph.D. student at Brown University in the Swartz lab (link to his ResearchGate page).
- Will Mitchell (2012): Kinematics of the forelimb of A. tigrinum during terrestrial locomotion. Awarded a M.S. in Human Nutrition at Columbia University in 2015.
- Lauren Pruitt (2012): Kinematics of the forelimb of A. tigrinum during terrestrial locomotion.
- Caitlin McPherson (2010-2011): Comparative morphological selection of waterfall-climbing gobiid fishes on different Hawaiian islands.
- Rose Curry (2010-2011): Comparative morphological selection of waterfall-climbing gobiid fishes on different Hawaiian islands.
I am actively engaged with providing the tools to help students succeed, and have developed a number of tutorials to help them build a solid foundation to excel in each activity. For example, I developed a tutorial on how to quantify animal behaviors, such as locomotion, through state-of-the-art digitizing programs and have made it available on FigShare to make these resources available to other researchers and instructors. I strive to interweave research and teaching in order to ensure that student curricula meets 21st century science and, thus, encourage the use of state-of-the-art techniques that students can apply to their careers or other courses.
Example Narratives from Former Students at Clemson University
Ability to explain complex topics
Ability to adapt curriculum to facilitate student learning
Ability to help students become independent thinkers
Ability to illustrate the applications of the course material
Ability to promote a positive learning environment
Dedication to teaching
Example Narratives from Former Students at Clemson University
Ability to explain complex topics
- “She understood the material very well. There was so much information being taught during one lab and she was able to break the material down into simpler ways for us to understand.”
- “I would HIGHLY recommend Sandy to other students. I don't think I've ever had a TA that could explain the material so clearly and thoroughly. She was very organized and was always checking on students to see if they had any questions for her. So great.”
Ability to adapt curriculum to facilitate student learning
- “I really loved how Sandy was able to see that we were struggling with the material and adapted her teaching methods to suit (the mini reviews during the second half really helped!).”
- “…She spent her own time in open labs with us reviewing and helping us find things in dissections. She made us worksheet handouts to make sure we knew exactly what we were expected to learn.”
- “Sandy's greatest strength is her willingness to go above and beyond the requirements of her job. She constantly was bringing in copies of extra handouts she made to further the students understanding of the material. She made her life a bit harder it seemed in order to make the lives of her students a bit easier. That's a pretty priceless quality.”
- “Powerpoints and practice quizzes made learning significantly easier.”
Ability to help students become independent thinkers
- “Sandy helped us when we didn't understand and did not just point out the answer but explained it in a way that we understood completely everything about it and also so that we would be able to remember.”
- “Sandy's greatest strength would have to be explaining answers to questions. Every time I had an issue with answering a question on the lab handout she would ask guiding questions so that we were able to come up with the answer and then she would finally explain the reasoning.”
Ability to illustrate the applications of the course material
- “She is able to pull information out of students by making us think about applications rather than just simply telling us the answers when we get confused.”
- “Sandy is great at explaining difficult concepts and making students aware of WHY and HOW things work the way they do. I felt like I really learned from this lab.”
Ability to promote a positive learning environment
- “She was so knowledgeable and knew exactly how to get down on our level and explain it to us. She was also willing to praise us when we understood or got something right. She never talked down to us or reprimanded us if we didn't know something. She was very understanding, kind and considerate. She was the TA that you could ask anything relating to the subject and she knew.”
- “Sandy was an incredible instructor! I know that these things are supposed to give constructive criticism but I honestly don't have any criticism whatsoever! She was so helpful and so friendly and enthusiastic about the subject. She always made herself available to help and the best part was that she was so approachable! She never made you feel uncomfortable or dumb for asking questions, unlike some other TAs that I've had before. She was extremely clear in her instructions and in her expectations of us in class. Also, she was super prepared! Great TA!”
- “She is very clear and made the material fun and easy to learn.”
- “Sandy is very knowledgeable about the material and can explain the concepts to students thoroughly. She has positive attitude each lab and is always very nice to students.”
- “Makes students want to learn more through her own excitement for the subject.”
- “She is very enthusiastic and able to outline the material well. She helps you whenever you need it.”
Dedication to teaching
- “It was obvious that she was concerned with making sure each student fully understood each lab and she seemed dedicated to learning as a whole.”
- “She really puts her all into making sure all of the students understand the material. She made herself available for help all the time and was definitely the best TA I've ever had.”
- “Her greatest strength is her passion for the course. It is obvious that she cares about what we are learning and doing in the lab and wants each of us to have a full understanding of the material.”
- “She should win an award for all the effort she put into this course. She spent tons of extra time outside of the 6 hours of lab a week making powerpoints and study guides to help with the material, she always jumped on the chance to answer a question to help us understand the material better, and she would open the lab and stay with us to give us extra time to study. Absolute best TA I've ever seen.”
- “Sandy is the best TA I've ever had. She spent so much time in open labs helping me prepare and made worksheets and review guides even though she really didn't have to. She put so much work into the class and it helped me a lot. I would have never thought I could learn and understand all the labs but she made sure we all knew what to expect and was so willing to help. She knew what she was talking about and was really good at explaining things.”
- “Her high level of commitment to the course. She put more time into teaching and helping with this lab than most full professors do in their courses.”
- “Sandy was not only in the scheduled lab times, but also came to open lab during the week to assist. I have an admiration for her from being so dedicated to the class. Best TA I've had… Sandy was always willing to help, no matter what the question was.”
- “Sandy was an amazing instructor. You could tell that she had studied the material before hand, and even if there was a question asked that she did not know, she would make it a priority to find the answer.”
- “She is really devoted to her students and to helping them do well.”
- “I loved how she genuinely wanted you to do well and would do anything to help out.”
