MentoringIn 2019, I mentored an undergraduate nursing student, Phoebe Chen. She completed a research project on the sensory systems that contribute to schooling in rummynose tetra. She is a coauthor on the resulting paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.
In the summer of 2017, I mentored a Bridges to Baccalaureate student, Naomi Carrillo. She completed a research project on the escape response of zebrafish in reaction to an approaching predator. In addition to completing the experiments, she helped with the video analysis, and animal care. |
Online tutorials
I have created three online tutorials for all ages. One is a tutorial about the Salton Sea, which I made in collaboration with Dr. Timothy Bradley at UC Irvine. This short tutorial covers the past, present, and potential futures for the Salton Sea region. You can check it out here. I have also created a tutorial that goes over the basics of animal behavior in an easy-to-digest format. This 15-20 minute tutorial is loaded with examples and links for more information. Current research is also included. Check it out here. Lastly, I created a tutorial on the biomechanics of animal movement. This tutorial is only slightly more involved than the previous two and includes several examples and explanations of how animals and humans move on land, in water, and through the air. Check it out here.
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Outdoor Education on the American Pride
As a deckhand and educator on the tallship American Pride, I taught multiple age groups about the wonders of the marine world. Through dissections, snorkeling tours, touch tank sessions, and lessons using real shark jaws, I introduced children and adults to science. Students, from under-served schools and private schools alike, were given hands-on access to knowledge about marine animals, island formation, oil spills, ocean currents, and more. Students on the American Pride spent 3-5 days learning about the natural world that many of them had never experienced before. I engaged these students in learning about the ocean and how scientists study it. Many of the students on these trips enjoyed learning about the ocean so much that they came back aboard the American Pride for a later trip. A few older students even signed on to work on the American Pride as an educator themselves!
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Volunteer At the CSULB marine lab
I worked in the Marine Lab at California State University, Long Beach for five years. In addition to my duties maintaining the lab and its inhabitants, I helped in collecting animals from the field and I frequently led tours of the Marine Lab to school groups or interested persons. On these tours, I taught several basic physiological, ecological, and evolutionary concepts that are relevant to our oceans. Students left with a deeper appreciation for the ocean and its inhabitants and a greater understanding of how biology works in practice. Researchers used the lab as well to house the animals for their research. On tours, students were able to see many of these animals and were able to learn about some of the projects being conducted at CSULB. To the left is a stingray I helped collect in a beach seine for the Marine Lab.
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Teaching Assistanceships at uci
I have led three discussion sections for the Introductory Developmental and Cell Biology course at the UC Irvine; a large class of mainly first-year freshman. As discussion leader, I create activities that help students understand complex biological concepts. I create worksheets and activities that challenge students to use what they have learned to solve problems.
I have also taught several lab courses for Human Physiology at the UC Irvine; a senior level course that engages students in hands-on lab activities. In addition to guiding students through experiments, I created assignments and activities to help students improve their scientific writing skills. Additionally, I have been an administrative TA for the Human Physiology lecture course, Introduction to Insect Physiology and Sustainable Landscaping. |