Tenure Portfolio Year 3

26 Aug 2024

Fall 2024 Tenure Portfolio Year 3 Skyline College

Hello! Welcome Tenure Committee! Thank you for being a part of my committee and giving me the opportunity to share my portfolio for you all. On this page you will find the links to all of the required material for my tenure portfolio as well as a rationale for why these are good and representative examples of my work.

This is my third year teaching at Skyline and this portfolio is a reflection of the work that I have done so far during my time here.

I bring nine years of teaching experience in higher education to my role as Assistant Professor and am committed to bringing student-centered and equitable practices to my courses.

You can learn more about my teaching philosophy below and I hope you enjoy the subsequent linked materials.

Here is a statement of my teaching philosophy.

My course syllabus for BIOL 215.

An example quiz and an example exam for BIOL 215, a course for majors.

Here is an example of a key information handout for the plant unit of 215.

Here is an example of a key project using iNaturalist to teach taxonomy.

Here is an example of a worksheet on evolution. Examples of some discussion prompts.

Here is an example of a representative assignment teaching students how to use primary sources.

Finally, I re-wrote the lab manual for Biol 215 as a ZTC OER!

Rationale for inclusion in the portfolio

The work above is representative of my teaching philosophy.

My examples demonstrate how I have moved away from assessing rote memorization towards encouraging a synthesis of the material by having short answer questions in my quizzes and midterms.

I stress discussion, synthesis, and clear articulation of ideas via group work and writing instead of test taking skills and memorization. This practice promotes equity in the classroom since it does not reward more priviledged students.

The précis assignment and iNaturalist project assignment demonstrate my commitment to encouraging student creativity and curiousity in a structured and rigorous way that is at the same time student-led.

I also am committed to the Skyline College Education Master Plan (especially number 3: “Ensure that all students have the support and resources needed to achieve their educational goals”) and have thus made all of my courses ZTC with OERs, including the lab manual that I have written.

Professional Development activities:

This summer I attended the 3-day Summer of Nanopore Professional Development workshop hosted at Skyline College by the Cold Spring Harbor DNA Learning Center. My goal is to bring this cutting edge technology into the classroom by 2026.

I am one of the faculty leads of a Skyline President’s Innovation Fund award of $7500: Earth Day Every Day with Qimmah, Marisa, Mays, and Rachel.

I was awarded a California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Zero-Textbook-Cost award of $5000 to write a new lab manual for BIOL 215, which I completed this summer.

Professional Service:

I am currently serving on Academic Senate as a STEM representative, as chair of the the STEM Division Scholarship Committee, and as co-advisor of the Skyline environmental club (SAGE).

I am also serving on on the Skyline Presidential Search Committee.

I mentored a student as a part of IMMERSE in STEM.

I have supervised 8 honors students since arriving at Skyline College and written 20 letters of recommendation landing students in REUs and summer internships at institutions as prestigous as UCSF.

This year, two honors projects students (Kea and Meagan) published a peer-reviewed journal manuscript with me in the American Fern Journal (in press), the premier academic journal on pteridology.

Represented Skyline College as an invited guest speaker at San Francisco State University and at the North American Rock Garden Association Summer Conference at the UC Botanical Garden.

Self Assessment

Here is a link to my completed mandatory self assessment form.