Teaching Philosophy 

My background in Mechanical Engineering (ME), Design Theory, and Physics, facilitates my approach to education: balancing technical skills and knowledge with innovation methods and cutting-edge applications. My prior teaching experiences have informed my teaching philosophy, grounded in the following principles:

Creating a safe and welcoming learning environment that embraces diversity: I know from personal experience that a welcoming learning environment for everyone is the first step toward enabling students to maximize their potential. Not only is a diverse classroom more representative of real- world dynamics, but it also improves learning outcomes. To support this, I completed multiple programs (e.g., SafeZone Training) through the Eberly Center at Carnegie Mellon University as well as through the Teaching Excellence Colloquium at UC Berkeley.

Emphasizing collaboration and teamwork to enhance proactive learning: Design is a collaborative process. Because engineering design is my core research and teaching focus, I emphasize collaboration as a vehicle for students to become more proactive learners. In an engineering design course, this can include helping students identify personal strengths and weaknesses to ensure student groups have complementary skills. Typically, I assign teams based partly on quantitative frameworks from the literature (e.g., DeBono’s six-hat). In courses that are not inherently collaborative, I include components to enhance student interest in the material (i.e. small group projects, think-pair-shares, peer-reviewed assignments).

Supporting fundamental skill acquisition: My ultimate job as an educator is to equip students with the skills necessary to be competent engineers, researchers, and critical problem solvers. I believe an appreciation for these skills is gained most effectively when students make connections between new material they are learning in class and other areas of their lives. One technique I have implemented is individual reflections as a deliverable. Here, I typically ask students to apply a method from class in a new way. This type of application- based learning promotes long-term memory formation and material retention.

Courses

UC Berkeley

Human-Centered Design Methods (ME292C/DESINV190), Fall 2019, 2020

Green Product Development: Design for Sustainability (ME 290H), Spring 2019 (co-taught w/ Euiyoung Kim)

Carnegie Mellon

Integrated Product Conceptualization, Fall 2017, Head Instructor

Technology-based Product Innovation and Enterprise Creation, Spring 2016, Technology Expert

Senior Mechanical Design II: Conceptualization and Realization, Spring 2014, Teaching Assistant

Design for Manufacturing and the Environment, Fall 2013, Teaching Assistant