Supporting Student Agency & Self-Efficacy
I promote agency and self-efficacy by encouraging my students to think of themselves as scientists, not simply as students, and providing platforms for them to do this. To foster this mindset, I incorporate activities into my teaching that support the development of scientific thinking (e.g. problem-based learning activities) and replicate experiences from a scientific career (e.g. drafting a short proposal prior to conducting a field study in my marine biology classes, poster presentations, etc.). These approaches are grounded in the pedagogical literature as methods to support student persistence in STEM and are major components of all of my classes.
Supporting First-Generation Students
First-generation students - the first in their family to earn a Bachelor's degree in the U.S. - can face significant challenges in feeling included and connected to the academic community. To support first-gens at Temple University, I serve on the steering committee of the College of Science and Technology's First Generation Initiative in collaboration with the CST Dean's Office and Office of Advising. We support programming for first-gens including meet-and-greets with faculty (including first-gen faculty), a first-year seminar focused on first-gen student success, story-telling series, and we are developing a peer-mentorship program for senior CST first-gen students to mentor new first-gen students at Temple.
|