Teaching, like scientific writing, is an iterative process. It requires continual revision of knowledge, objectives, methods, and the ways we engage students. I approach teaching the same way I approach research: with curiosity, evidence, and a commitment to understanding what my students genuinely know.

On the first day of every course, students take a comprehensive exam that mirrors the final. This baseline assessment shows me what they already understand and helps me decide how to scaffold new concepts, challenge assumptions, and deepen critical thinking throughout the semester. Real learning comes from applying ideas, connecting

concepts and thinking analytically about the world

During field exercises, we use the natural world as a learning laboratory. Animal behavior students may use echolocation, among little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) to understand how insectivorous bats alter their calls in canopied versus open habitats. Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) calls may also be measured along the Oregon coast, where animal behavior, in collaboration with marine biology students, collects acoustic data by recording calls with a hydrophone and performing spectral analysis to assess behavioral responses to ocean noise.

Not every lecture or activity succeeds the first time, and that is part of the process. In my classes, just as in research and in life, we formulate, implement, evaluate, and then revise as needed. My goal is to model this process so students learn both the course material and how to approach complex problems with resilience, curiosity, and scientific thinking.

Courses I Teach

PSY 252 and Lab: Introduction to Clinical and Behavioral Neuroscience
PSY 300 and 301 with Labs: Behavioral Research Methods and Statistics
PSY 352 and Lab: Sensation and Perception
PSY 452: Behavioral Endocrinology
PSY 420: Drugs and the Environment
PSY and BIO 425 with Lab: Animal Behavior
PSY 382 and 482: Behavioral Biology, Ecology Research, and Capstone