Teaching Experience

 

I have teaching experience inside and outside of academia, from formal classrooms to museum auditoriums, corporate settings, outdoor amphitheaters, and in the field. I have been teaching college level undergraduate courses as an Instructor of Record and Graduate Teaching Assistant from 2018-2025 while working on my masters (2019) and PhD. In my previous teaching roles, I was a National Park Service Interpretive Park Ranger and Archaeologist, American Red Cross Corporate Trainer, 4-H Club Sponsor and Youth Leader, AmeriCorps VISTA America Reads State Program Leader, and an Academic Advisor, Instructor, and Board Member for a large homeschool organization. I am prepared for academia teaching through my graduate studies which included the teaching focused courses AHE 603: College and University Teaching and IDGR 650: Welcome to Preparing Future Faculty. My teaching pedagogy leverages my experiences to connect students broadly across the disciplines, and my students have consistently rated me Excellent to Above Average on Student Instructor Evaluations at the end of each semester. One of my students from my fall 2024 ANT 100 lab wrote a personal email to me:

You were truly one of my favorite teachers. I enjoyed your passion for anthropology and loved being in your labs; you made it so much fun. I've raved to so many people about taking ANT 100 and especially about taking your lab specifically because of how much I enjoyed it and enjoyed you. I know you're going to do amazing the rest of grad school, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you.

College courses I have taught and/or assisted teaching:

• ANT 100, Anthropology of Humanity (Spring 2025)
• ANT 100, Anthropology of Humanity labs (2 sections taught in Fall 2024)
• ANT 421/521, Ethnography (Spring 2024)
• ANT 270 Biological Anthropology labs (2 sections taught in Spring 2023)
• ANT 475/575, The Plastic Human: Biology, Culture, & Evolution of Human Adaptability (Fall 2023)
• ANT 2000, Introduction to Anthropology (Fall 2018)
• ANT 3212, Peoples and Cultures of the World (Fall 2018)
• ANT 4034, History of Anthropology (Spring 2019)
• ANT 4808, Applied Anthropology (Spring 2019)
• SYG 2000, Introduction to Sociology (4 sections in Spring 2018)

Elementary, Middle School and High School Courses I have taught:

• World History: Peoples and Cultures
• Special Literary Study: To Kill a Mockingbird, including performance field trip
• Special Literary Study: Shakespeare with workshop at Alabama Shakespeare Festival
• Science Fair Prep!  For the Mobile Regional Science and Engineering Fair
• Special Unit Study: Ancient Coins for Education focusing on the Roman Empire
• Special Unit Study: The Periodic Table
• Special Unit Study: The Lakota Sioux, from History to Present, A Cultural Study
• Biology Labs with experiments
• Elementary Literary Study using the Magic Treehouse series
• Planning for Your Future: High School Guidance
• Middle School Literature and Reading Club
• Easy Grammar Plus

4-H Programs/STEM Programs I taught/oversaw:

• Alabama Water Watchers, certified youth and adopted water monitoring sites
• Reuse and Recycle
• Camping/Outdoor Skills and Experiences
• Science in Nature
• Wind Energy
• Junior Master Gardeners
• Marine Science

National Park Service Programs developed and/or presented:

• Fort Tours of Fort Pickens, Fort Barrancas, Fort Massachusetts, and the Advanced Redoubt, including day tours and special programs such as fort candlelight tours and the Spirit of Fort Pickens

• Arrowheads, Bones, and Common Sense: The A, B, Cs of Archaeology in the National Park Service, a national award nominated NPS program

• Seasonal programs: Battery Pensacola Tour, Black Powder Rifle Firing Demonstration, Snorkeling and Beach Safety Program, Full Moon Beach Walks, special programs on Sea Turtles, Jellyfish, Snakes, Monarch Butterflies, and other wildlife

• Auditorium programs on Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Windows to the Past, Storms, The Lorax and Naval Live Oaks, Mysteries of the Deep, 

• Nature Walks and Talks: Dune Island Nature Walk, Land Between Two Waters cross island walk, Barrier Islands, Exploring Fort Barrancas, Exploring Naval Live Oaks, Seawall strolls, and Beach Discovery walks
• Volunteer training in cultural and natural resource management

American Red Cross Courses Taught

• CPR Certification courses: Adult, Children, and Infants
• Community First Aid and Safety
• HIV/Aids Education
• Cosmetology/Barber Safety Certifications

Other Courses/Teaching Related

• Developed the Teachers Guide for Discovering Alabama's 2020 production and release of Alabama Fossils
• Implemented America Reads in Title I Schools across Alabama, and went on loan through SERVE to present America Reads to school administrators and train community partners across the Southeast in implementing the program
• Developed and trained volunteers in tutoring K-3 students for America Reads