TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Instructor, Boston University Earth and Environment, 2016-Present
GE 100, Environmental Change and Sustainability
Instructor, Boston University Earth and Environment, 2015-Present
GE 460/660, Food, Energy, and Water Policy (Formerly Resources Economics and Policy)
Instructor, Boston University Earth and Environment, 2016-Present
GE 598, Key Debates and Emerging Research in Land Change Science
Instructor, Stanford University Environment and Resources Program, 2011
Envres 220D, Agricultural Systems in Emerging Economies
Co-instructor: Peter Vitousek
Teaching Assistant, Stanford University Economics Department, 2010
Economics 106, World Food Economy
Instructors: Walter Falcon and Rosamond Naylor
Teaching Assistant, Stanford University Earth Systems Department, 2010
Earth Systems 324, Agribusiness, Policy & Land Use Change in Brazil
Instructors: Luiz Martinelli and Rosamond Naylor
TEACHING STATEMENT
My teaching objectives are to help students understand: i) interactions between humans and the environment at different scales, particularly with respect to agriculture and economic development, and ii) the ecological and social tradeoffs of different environmental governance strategies. To increase students understanding of interactions between humans and the environment at different scales I think it is helpful to begin with first principles and theories in each relevant natural and social science discipline, and then use case studies and modeling projects to help elucidate how these principles and theories play out when inserted into a particular historical context.
First principles are the building blocks of disciplinary knowledge and theory. They provide students with the tools necessary to make sense of what they are seeing, so that they don’t become lost in the complexity of that issue. They also help students from different backgrounds communicate, collaborate, and critique each other’s work through a shared language. Case studies are essential for understanding the historical and cultural context of social processes. They are necessary for policy analysis, because tradeoffs can only be comprehensively evaluated when all of the stakeholders are identified and understood. Comparison between case studies facilitates an understanding of qualitative and “small-N” variables that cannot be analyzed through statistical approaches. Modeling projects are an extremely helpful teaching tool, because they force students to understand all of inputs into a complex system and then reduce that complexity down into a simple but functional form. It also helps students understand how a system can shift when one variable is changed.
My teaching approach derived from three courses that I assisted and taught at Stanford University: World Food Economy, Agribusiness, Policy and Land Use Change in Brazil and Agricultural Systems in Emerging Economies. It is also the foundation of a new course I am developing called the Human Dimensions of Land Cover Change. These courses begin with lectures laying out (or recapping) key principles in economics, sociology, geography, environmental science, landscape ecology, and agronomy. They then introduce case studies demonstrating interactions between land use processes, environmental health, and development at local and global levels. Throughout the course students are expected to complete their own modeling projects of coupled human-natural system to demonstrate their competency in the subject.
In the classroom setting I rely heavily on the Socratic method. I believe that both questioning and answering is a creative process that helps both sides better understand what they are talking about and explore new ideas. Serving as a “devil’s advocate”, as a means of testing a contrasting hypothesis, is a central component of teaching in public policy and law schools, but is not frequently used in economic or environmental departments. An extension of this method is to ask students to debate different sides of a proposed environmental policy or technology. Asking a student to take a side on an issue that they are not fully comfortable with forces that student to be open-minded to new ideas. The usefulness of questioning and debate as a form of learning is something that I came to appreciation during my Master of Public Administration at Columbia University and in my current position at the Kennedy School for Government.
The overall goal of my teaching method is to help students see themselves as part of nested communities in space and time, whose personal decisions and careers have inter-generational, intra-generational, and inter-species consequences.
Instructor, Boston University Earth and Environment, 2016-Present
GE 100, Environmental Change and Sustainability
Instructor, Boston University Earth and Environment, 2015-Present
GE 460/660, Food, Energy, and Water Policy (Formerly Resources Economics and Policy)
Instructor, Boston University Earth and Environment, 2016-Present
GE 598, Key Debates and Emerging Research in Land Change Science
Instructor, Stanford University Environment and Resources Program, 2011
Envres 220D, Agricultural Systems in Emerging Economies
Co-instructor: Peter Vitousek
Teaching Assistant, Stanford University Economics Department, 2010
Economics 106, World Food Economy
Instructors: Walter Falcon and Rosamond Naylor
Teaching Assistant, Stanford University Earth Systems Department, 2010
Earth Systems 324, Agribusiness, Policy & Land Use Change in Brazil
Instructors: Luiz Martinelli and Rosamond Naylor
TEACHING STATEMENT
My teaching objectives are to help students understand: i) interactions between humans and the environment at different scales, particularly with respect to agriculture and economic development, and ii) the ecological and social tradeoffs of different environmental governance strategies. To increase students understanding of interactions between humans and the environment at different scales I think it is helpful to begin with first principles and theories in each relevant natural and social science discipline, and then use case studies and modeling projects to help elucidate how these principles and theories play out when inserted into a particular historical context.
First principles are the building blocks of disciplinary knowledge and theory. They provide students with the tools necessary to make sense of what they are seeing, so that they don’t become lost in the complexity of that issue. They also help students from different backgrounds communicate, collaborate, and critique each other’s work through a shared language. Case studies are essential for understanding the historical and cultural context of social processes. They are necessary for policy analysis, because tradeoffs can only be comprehensively evaluated when all of the stakeholders are identified and understood. Comparison between case studies facilitates an understanding of qualitative and “small-N” variables that cannot be analyzed through statistical approaches. Modeling projects are an extremely helpful teaching tool, because they force students to understand all of inputs into a complex system and then reduce that complexity down into a simple but functional form. It also helps students understand how a system can shift when one variable is changed.
My teaching approach derived from three courses that I assisted and taught at Stanford University: World Food Economy, Agribusiness, Policy and Land Use Change in Brazil and Agricultural Systems in Emerging Economies. It is also the foundation of a new course I am developing called the Human Dimensions of Land Cover Change. These courses begin with lectures laying out (or recapping) key principles in economics, sociology, geography, environmental science, landscape ecology, and agronomy. They then introduce case studies demonstrating interactions between land use processes, environmental health, and development at local and global levels. Throughout the course students are expected to complete their own modeling projects of coupled human-natural system to demonstrate their competency in the subject.
In the classroom setting I rely heavily on the Socratic method. I believe that both questioning and answering is a creative process that helps both sides better understand what they are talking about and explore new ideas. Serving as a “devil’s advocate”, as a means of testing a contrasting hypothesis, is a central component of teaching in public policy and law schools, but is not frequently used in economic or environmental departments. An extension of this method is to ask students to debate different sides of a proposed environmental policy or technology. Asking a student to take a side on an issue that they are not fully comfortable with forces that student to be open-minded to new ideas. The usefulness of questioning and debate as a form of learning is something that I came to appreciation during my Master of Public Administration at Columbia University and in my current position at the Kennedy School for Government.
The overall goal of my teaching method is to help students see themselves as part of nested communities in space and time, whose personal decisions and careers have inter-generational, intra-generational, and inter-species consequences.
