Hello

The driving values behind my learning, teaching and mentoring are integrity through active listening, equality in diverse communities of learning, and perseverance through curiosity driven inquiry.  My learning philosophy is that learning influences human behavior and therefore what it means to be human by requiring first that basic needs are secured, then that the humans have past experiences that provide perspective of failure, and finally that they have acknowledgement of self. Relating the meaning of being human with our work to design and teach instructional learning activities for diverse ages and learners, I think we should first validate a learner’s experience and evaluate their learning environment internally and externally. Instruction should then follow four steps: 1. Hands on tinkering first = normalizes insecurity 2. Reflection to bring forward established knowledge and boost security from past learning 3. Instruction to expand learning 4. Application and assessment for validation I believe learning is predicated on searching for and securing validation. Learning comes through curiosity, reflection, and trials of knowledge application is a means to striving for security about our knowledge, relationships, connections, and place in the world. My teaching philosophy braids diverse disciplinary contexts with Association of College and Research Libraries’ national frameworks for research as inquiry, searching as strategy, and information has value using scalable teaching methods to reach all classifications of students. My focus for teaching centers on marketable skills for careers in industry and graduate school such as critical thinking and questioning, information synthesis, and content creation as discourse in their discipline. Teaching and directing university programs challenged me to adopt the student perspective and listen actively for barriers to learning whether in the curriculum, embedded in their study habits and communication methods, or stemming from a lack of experience with academic rigor. Teaching Research Literacies to undergraduate through PhD students and across the curriculum exposed the student need for critical thinking in research and allowed me to explore other disciplines’ contexts and diverse teaching philosophies. This path in teaching led to communicating with diverse faculty about student learning gaps and created opportunities for new teaching partnerships and improving learning across the curriculum.  Mentoring and project management deepened my philosophy that others learn best with great modeling and guidance and when the application and reflection of concepts are placed in the students’ realm of control. I have mentored thirteen undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students in scheduling dedicated project time, setting firm goals and timelines, managing expectations of themselves and others, and allowing flexibility from the project findings as discoveries are made. Ultimately, I mentor student projects to showcase their ability to initiate, follow through, and complete a project as expected in their careers. The learning, teaching and mentoring spaces I inhabit are active discussion spaces with demonstrations of work, constructive criticism, and sharing resources for further development. I hope along the way I inspire others to be curious about how their research, writing ,and projects inform the world and affect scholarship across disciplines.