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Please Contact Me (centrellamary@gmail.com) for a resume of both teaching and research.

Below is my teaching philosophy statement:


Centrella Teaching Philosophy
I am dedicated to inspiring students to appreciate nature through science, using motivation and
self-initiative. As an early graduate student, I joined a Cloud Forest Ecology class taught in a
field station in Ecuador. I have always had a passion for nature and also for sharing knowledge,
but this course helped me discover that I could harness my two passions in a way that would
impact others. I look forward to the rest of my career, which will include of mixture of both
research and teaching, as research helps inform teaching and teaching helps guide research My
goal is to teach broader science classes (Introduction to Biology, Ecology, Entomology,
Pollination Ecology, Evolution, and Research Design) in higher education. I believe that the
purpose of higher education is to challenge students to become independent scholars who can
question and examine their own convictions and continue to pursue new insights in a subject
they are passionate about throughout their lives.
In science, the primary challenge is to get students to connect with the material which is often
theoretical, abstract, and foreign to learners. I hope to establish a connection with the material
through 1. motivating students, 2. challenging them to be personally responsible for their own
learning, and 3. serving as a fair and honest mentor who listens to and guides them at a class and
individual level.
Motivation: I motivate students through my teaching style. First, I make sure to explain to
students why the course is of value. I offer case studies that demonstrate how the material relates
to practical applications and often bring in fellow scientists to explain how their work might
relate to our class. Students cannot be motivated if they do not think they are capable of
succeeding. For this reason, I begin teaching by building the foundational knowledge (such as
introduction to course content or basic principles) in a subject. This ensures students are all
familiar with basic ideas. Next, I switch to a more learning-based, active, and collaborative style
where students are re-enforcing concepts they learned earlier. The active learning helps keep
students engaged and connected to material once theyve become familiar with it. I feel this
technique is motivational because students are prepared for the more challenging material and
activities because of the preparations they had with the basic principles. Additionally, they are all
starting with an equal knowledge base before delving into activities. I prefer to promote deeper
learning by focusing on a few examples rather than broader surface-level knowledge. The deep
learning in certain areas can be extrapolated to new contexts and students will not feel
overwhelmed with having to memorize huge swaths of new material. Focus on specific areas
also builds motivation because students are only studying a few topics deeply and are thus given
ample amounts of time to grapple with understanding the important concepts and can work
together as a class and with the teacher to truly understand what they are learning. Once they
have the concept down, it should feel much easier, and even fun for them to apply that concept to
the rest of the material that we may cover more quickly.
I also motivate students using a diverse array of teaching methods designed to connect with a
variety of learners. I use power-point slides to organize my classes, but often use the white

board, discussion, demonstrations, and have students teach each other in groups and through
examples and presentations. To help students connect with material inside the classroom, I use
analogies to promote cognitive learning, helping my students relate what they are learning to
what they have already experienced. For example, when talking about the gate that insects use
for walking, I ask students what gates bi-peds and quadrupeds use and then act out those gaits in
front of the class before asking students to split into groups and think about what gaits a sixlegged creature might adopt. If taught well, science should be tactile, and I often bring in
examples from nature to the classroom, such as pinecones when we are talking about plant
reproduction. I keep motivation in mind when planning assessment. I offer low-stakes, informal
assessment opportunities often, through i-clicker questions or in-class quizzes. This will help
students know what to expect when we reach the more formal, higher-stakes assessment
opportunities later on. I design at least four tests per class and multiple assignments so students
have a chance to improve throughout the semester. I make sure that assessment is coupled with
careful feedback and clear, consistent guidelines for how to improve answers. Written
assignments usually undergo multiple rounds of editing, with comments from both me and peer
reviewers.
Finally, I motivate students through the process of science itself: discovery and experimentation.
I believe it is ideal take trips into the field so that students can experience nature hands-on. Even
if field trips are not feasible, on most college campuses, it is easy to teach mini-lessons in
gardens on pollinators or to visit areas that are undergoing ecological species succession due to
recent human development. I develop courses that incorporate frequent field trip components and
even courses that involve more extensive field trips or travel. I am bi-lingual (in Spanish) and
have training as an outdoor leader, skills which have already proved essential in a Tropical
Entomology course I assistant taught in Costa Rica.
Independent Scholarship: I encourage students to become scholars who are responsible for
their own learning. To do this, I break my class up into collaborative groups that interact
throughout the semester. For example, if we are learning about different insect metamorphosis
strategies, I might ask these small groups to investigate one of the strategies and then each group
will give an informal presentation to share their discoveries with the class. I could also have the
groups work together on a metamorphosis worksheet that they turn in for a grade after class.
Whether the assignment is a graded worksheet or an informal presentation, students are
encouraged to stay engaged and work hard so they can help their classmates. In order to keep
students on-task instead of just socializing, I choose the groups, change the groups throughout
the semester, and circulate the classroom during group work. I also believe that we can make
students better scholars if they are thinking about the way they think and study, through metacognition. As a teacher, I model good study habits, how to out-line papers, how to brainstorm,
and how to set goals to try to encourage my students to practice meta-cognition. If we are
learning how to read scientific papers, I will have students read papers and share their summary
of the paper with the class, which will help them organize the way they are thinking and reading
the papers skills they can use throughout their life as scholars. Students can rely on group
members for study help, as well.
Independent scholars understand that there is often no right answer but instead many different
possible answers. It is imperative students see the multi-dimensionality of the truth in order to

understand science, because this will help them think critical and know how to form opinions
and which sources to trust with facts. I facilitate discussion of competing viewpoints in the
classroom. For example, if we are talking about how mitochondria and chloroplasts are actually
bacteria that was once consumed by eukaryotic cells, I will not first present this as fact but
instead ask students how those organelles could existed in eukaryotes if this were NOT the case.
I will challenge students to back up their statements with evidence and will play devils
advocate. I try not to avoid sensitive topics but instead delve further into them. I have my
students write opinion pieces on topics such as evolution versus creationism, asking them to pick
the opposite side to debate than the one they agree with. In my class, we conduct open debates on
current theories in science, such as hypotheses for how insects developed wings. Students
leaving my class not only have a more complex vision of science, but also are more critical,
discerning, responsible and independent scholars.
Mentorship: In the classroom, I serve as a mentor by enforcing listening. When I listen to my
students contributions in the classroom setting, I can gain their trust and build a safe space
where they feel they have a voice. The group work fosters peer listening. I group shier students
with louder students and ask the louder students to summarize the shy members contributions,
once we re-convene as a class. Outside of class, I strive to minimize student isolation by setting
up at least two mandatory office visits towards the beginning of the semester. By personally
getting to know each student in a more casual setting, I will offer them a chance to reach out if
they are having trouble later. College is a challenging time of transition for many students. I hope
that I can be a positive influence to students who are struggling in general. If students are
struggling with the course material, I try to remind them that they are in control of their performance and
that their abilities in the subject can be developed and grow. I help students to change by asking how they
are studying and sharing suggestions on improving those habits. I watch out for students that seem
distressed and monitor their progress closely.

An instructor must be just as dedicated to teaching as they expect their students to be to learning.
I take my role as instructor seriously and am constantly working to improve my teaching habits
through workshops, courses, and feedback from other instructors. In order to improve my
emotional connections with students, I set up mandatory office visits to get to know my students
on a deeper level. I create and am always improving outlines for classes I teach and make
improvements in notes immediately after a class, so it can be improved in the future. I prepare to
teach the night before every class to minimize confusion or lost time in class. I often seek
feedback from colleagues on my lesson organization. I require student reviews of my teaching
methods early on each semester, so that I can improve incrementally. After every class I teach, I
add annotations to my lesson plans and assignments so that I can improve them the next time
they are taught. I often record myself teaching so I can self-evaluate and I invite colleagues into
my classes to give peer evaluation regarding how I can improve. Finally, science is an everchanging and exciting field, and I keep updated as a scientist, reading the current literature and
theories. To make sure that I keep up with my field, I search for the most recent textbooks and
resources to disseminate to the class. The more I prepare for classes and keep in touch with the
students, the more they feel motivated to learn and respect me as an instructor. I look forward to

continuing to improve my teaching in my career. I am able to inspire students about science


through enhancing motivation, fostering independent scholarship, and serving as a mentor to
students. I look forward to contributing to the community as a faculty member at a future
institution.

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