Teaching

I aim to produce capable statisticians that have the knowledge and confidence to continue on to be successful collaborators and statisticians. I have 4 main aims to accomplish this:

1. Using hands on demonstrations and simulations to give students better statistical intuition
2. Collaboration through group projects
3. Personalizing the teacher-learner relationship by treating students with dignity and respect in all interactions
4. Encourage the growth-mindset, the belief that any one is capable of learning a new skill and that skills are not innate

These goals were developed through studying what makes statisticians successful (good intuition and collaborative skills, aims 1-2) and what encourages learning (personal relationships and self-efficiency, aims 3-4).

I aim to improve statistics education by applying DEI practices in the classroom. I am currently working towards a DEI professional development certificate offered through UM’s Rackham Graduate School. Additionally, I partook in the Diversity and Inclusive Teaching seminar series where I learned concrete strategies for student success.  There I learned about the “growth-mindset” which is the belief that intellect and skills can be developed and learned with effort. It is a common myth that mathematical ability is innate, a bias that especially plagues women and other underrepresented minorities. This pervasive “fixed-mindset” belief is damaging to students when learning challenging material and may encourage students to give up early rather than continue to pursue further learning. I aim to encourage diversity and equitability in statistics by spreading awareness of the growth-mindset. By telling students that they are capable of achieving success, while also acknowledging the challenges and effort required, the next generation of statisticians will be diverse, cognizant, and lead the field in novel ways.I’d love to talk more about any of these aims, so feel free to email me or get in touch below.

I have had several teach opportunities where I put these aims into practice. The University of Michigan Biostatistics Department hosts the Big Data Science Institute (BDSI). This program is for undergraduates that have an interest in biostatistics. BDSI provides them with an opportunity to get hands-on research experience and learn about graduate school. As a lecturer for BDSI, I taught review lessons and advanced lessons. Some lectures were recorded and are available here.

I was a guest lecturer for the undergraduate public health course “Data Driven Solutions in Public Health” and the master’s level course “Clinical Trials.” During my Masters at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, I was a teaching assistant for the Introduction to Biostatistics course. This course was for Masters of Public Health students in non-biostatistics departments. I have also tutored math for undergraduate college students and elementary students.