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Teaching as Transformation

One of my missions is to design and teach courses that have a lasting impact on how students relate to the world around them. Using course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), paired with individualized mentorship and invitations for creativity and community, I facilitate student-led discovery experiences in the classroom. 

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ESPM139A: Genetics of Amphibian Declines

In the Fall of 2022 I co-designed and taught this CURE course with my advisor, Bree Rosenblum at UC Berkeley. We led teams of students along a journey of discovery, facilitating student-led research projects focused on amphibians in the field and in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. We also integrated one-on-one check-ins, team building activities, and heartfelt discussions about how we relate to nature and our role as scientists in society. Students reported significant increases in confidence around planning and executing scientific projects and reported feeling more prepared for the next step in their journeys. 

Additional teaching accomplishments:

I am a dedicated educator who has served as an instructor in many large undergraduate courses, given many guest lectures, and demonstrated a commitment to community outreach.

 

I served as a Graduate Student Mentor for the Berkeley Connect program from 2018-2020 where I led multiple discussion sections every semester with the goal of fostering belonging on campus for freshmen and transfer students.

 

I created and led workshops on amphibian pathogen genomics at the RIBBiTR Training Workshops (2022, 2023) and was voted “most educational instructor” by participants.

 

I served as a volunteer mentor for many mentorship programs including Berkeley GiGS (Getting into Graduate School) Program, oSTEM (out in STEM) national mentorship program, Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and Bay Area Scientists in Schools program.

 

I was a Graduate Student Instructor for ESPM50AC: Intro to Culture & Natural Resource Management where I led multiple discussion sections in >500 student course.

                                                                                                   

I was a Graduate Student Instructor for ESPM100ES: Methods in Environmental Science where I mentored students writing senior thesis proposals, led data and writing workshops and was awarded Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award.

 

I was a Graduate Student Instructor for ESPM137: Landscape Ecology where I led computer-based lab sections using ArcGIS and R.

 

I have also served as a mentor and direct supervisor for nine undergraduate students, teaching them lab and field  skills and mentoring them through manuscript preparation (see Boren et al. 2024 in prep).

Future Plans

Creating new CUREs and continuing to inspire students to discover the joy of studying the world around them.

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© 2024 by Allie Byrne

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