Introduction to teaching
In the past I have been a graduate student instructor (GSI) at both the University of Michigan and the University of Waterloo. For each of the courses listed below I provided instruction and presentation of course theory and materials, graded labs and exams, and created course laboratories and assignments for a comprehensive range of techniques and applications of GIScience concepts. In addition to these standard university courses, I also co-instructed the China GIS Training Project headed by Dr. Douglas Dudycha at the University of Waterloo and sponsored by Mark Stauffer from the Potash and Phosphate Institute, from July 2001 - August 2002. The program involved training a large number of Chinese soil and agricultural scientists interested in using geographical information systems to practice balanced fertilization techniques.
University of Michigan
Michigan Teaching Fellow Certificate, 2007
Completion of a 5 week teaching seminar with topics including preparation for the academic job search, information about higher education, effective and reflective teaching, multicultural teaching and learning, use of instructional technology, and trips to local college campuses.Graduate Student Instructor, Jan.- April 2005
Course: Principles in GIS NRE 531
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Daniel G. Brown
Nominated for outstanding graduate student instructor award.
Beijing - University of Waterloo
China GIS Training Project, July 2001 - August 2002
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Douglas Dudycha - University of Waterloo
The program involved a 2 week intensive GIS Training program in Beijing - April 2002. During this 2 week period I led computer labs and assignments for ~60 students, 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. In addition to the 2 week program, I performed similar instruction (4hrs/day, 6days/wk, ~ 40 students) for 2 months for each of 2 summers in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My responsibilities were primarily to conduct lab training and lectures on GIS and remote sensing theory that represented three undergraduate level GIS courses. My secondary responsibilities were to create lab modules and assignments for the program.
University of Waterloo
Teaching Assistant, Sept. 2002 - Dec. 2002
Course: Introduction to GIS - GEOG 255
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Robert Feick
Recipient of the Lorne Russworm excellence in teaching award.Teaching Assistant, Sept. 2001 - Dec. 2001
Course: Spatial Analysis Using Geographic Information Systems - GEOG 455
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Peter J. DeadmanTeaching Assistant,
Course: Geographic Information Systems Project - GEOG 457
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Douglas Dudycha
Evidence of teaching effectiveness - Awards
Nominated for outstanding graduate student instructor award. School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan. Course: Principles in GIS NRE 531. Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Daniel G. Brown
Recipient of the Lorne Russworm excellence in teaching award. Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo. Course: Introduction to GIS - GEOG 255. Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Robert Feick
Invited/Guest lectures
2009/02/13 "Agent-based modeling of policies and institutions in forest cover change", Department of Computational Social Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
2008/12/15 "An integrative approach to modeling land-use and land-cover change systems", Department of Geography, George Washington University, DC, USA.
2008/12/08 "Using ABM, GIS, and an ecosystem model to represent and evaluate human-environment interactions", Department of Geography, University of Iowa, IA, USA.
2008/12/04 "An integration of agent-based, GIS, and ecosystem modeling for land-use and land-cover change analysis", Department of Geography, University of Illinois, IL, USA.
2008/09/23 "Multi-criteria evaluation using ArcObjects", Presented lecture in SNRE graduate course in GIS and Landscape Modelling, University of Michigan, MI, USA.
2008/06/16 "Agent-based modelling our way toward improved evaluations of land use policy". Presented to the School of Planning and Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada.
2007/02/16 "A Review of GIS & ABM Integration: What Lies Ahead." Presented in Geography 506: Advanced Geo-Information Systems, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
2007/01/18 "Introduction to Agent-Based Modelling and GIS-ABM Integration" Ann Arbor GIS professionals monthly meeting.
Efforts to improve teaching
Personal Critiques |
Midterm Feedback and Class Consultation
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Day-long Workshops |
Getting Ready for an Academic Career: Preparing Future Faculty. Graduate Student Instructor Orientation
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Short Workshops
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Interactive Lecturing: The Best of Both Worlds Speaking with Confidence (Public Speaking I) Students Said They Understood It, but Did They Really Get It? Developing and Maintaining Professional Relationships Mastering Critical Incidents From Presenting to Lecturing Effective Presentations Question Strategies MathCAD as a Teaching Tool Teaching Dossiers Part One |