Teaching. I often say that I write so that I know what I think, what I know, and what I don't know. Teaching is writing multiplied by the number of engaged students in the class. I don't think I've ever taught a class where I didn't learn as much as I taught. If I don't really understand something before I teach it, the students make sure that I do by the time I'm done -- or at least I'll know what needs to be understood better. Teaching often shows me what I should be thinking about, and guides my research. As a researcher I also believe that students learn best by asking questions themselves, and especially questions that don't have a clear answer. The goal in all my teaching is to get students to ask themselves hard questions, and to make sure they have the tools to find the information they need, evaluate it critically, and then write about it clearly. Most of my teaching draws heavily on primary literature or hands-on inquiry-based approaches, because I want our graduates to move into the world able to draw on all the resources they can to creatively solve the environmental issues of tomorrow -- not those of yesterday. I ask that the students recognize the great responsibility that comes with the privilege of education, and that part of that responsibility is to use scientific understanding to continually re-evaluate the assumptions that shape their world view .

Besides teaching in the classroom, I take strongly value the importance of mentoring students in independent studies, internships, and senior theses. As the faculty representative for the UCSC Campus Natural Reserve I host a large number of internships and independent studies, particularly focused on the UCSC Forest Ecology Research Plot. Similarly, I have an active laboratory of graduate students working on a wide range of topics in applied ecology and evolutionary biology.

My interests in inquiry-based teaching and learning has recently taken a central focus in my career with the establishment of a graduate training program called SCWIBLES, the Santa-Cruz Watsonville Inquiry-Based Learning in Environmental Sciences. SCWIBLES is a partnership between UCSC and Watsonville High School. As Director of SCWIBLES, I will help shape a training program that helps Environmental Science graduate student effectively communicate about science with non-scientists while working to develop an effective Environmental Science and Natural Resources curriculum at Watsonville High School, a predominantly Latino-serving, and chronically underperforming high school.