Teaching philosophy and mentoring

Teaching philosophy

My teaching philosophy emphasizes curiosity, interaction, acquisition of knowledge, application of that knowledge, and synthesis across multiple perspectives. My first concern as a teacher is to find the best way to spread my knowledge to future generations. I keep my lectures spontaneous and interactive while using day-to-day news, scientific debates, or problem based learning methods in my classrooms. My enthusiasm and outgoing approach to teaching allows me to naturally build a productive relationship with students, keeping them interested, attentive, and curious while learning fundamental and advanced concepts. I assess my students’ learning not only with homework and exam grades, but also improvement in critical thinking.

Experiences
University of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
2017- 2020 PhD committee member of Joshua Paul Heyer
PhD title: A reconstruction of Dolores River watershed hydroclimate variability, a tributary to the Colorado River, using paleoecological, X-ray fluorescence, and watershed modelling techniques.
Supervised by Andrea Brunelle and Mitchel Power.

Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kansas, USA)
2015-2016 Mentoring of 4 undergraduate students, one Master student, and one PhD student. Projects related to grassland vegetation composition and fire history on the Holocene.
Undergraduated students: Training in charcoal extraction techniques from lacustrine sediments, and data acquisition by image analysis, weekly meetings and help with the writing of reports.
Master student (now Science Assistant at NSF): Field protocol set up, training for the use and calibration of X-rays fluorescence for the elemental signature of soil, roc, plant and lacustrine sediment samples.
PhD student (now Associate Professor): Training in the writing of scientific articles, including preparation of the manuscript, selection of statistical tests, presentation of results, preparation for submitting papers and response to reviewers.

Université Montpellier 2 (Montpellier, France)
2013-2014 Lecturer for undergraduate and graduate students
Geosciences class: Mediterranean environment, Biodiversity and crisis, Life history reconstruction, soil-organism interactions.
Biology class: Biodiversity and sustainable development, plant and animal biology, plant evolutionary, Functional ecology, human functions (nutrition, respiration…).
Other: professional development, CV and cover letter, seminars.

2009-2012 Teaching assistant
Geosciences class: Mediterranean environment, Biodiversity and crisis.
Biology class: Biodiversity and sustainable development, plant and animal biology, plant evolutionary, Functional ecology.

2011 Mentoring of 3 undergraduate students
Small independent research projects on ecological topics

2009 Creation and development of a course for undergrads: Biodiversity and Sustainable development (Lectures, fields, exercises and exams)

2006-2008 High School Buffon Paris, France; High School Arsonval, and Secondary School Emile Zola, Choisy-le-roy, France