As a geographer, I teach about essential aspects of human and natural landscapes—climate change, landform processes, land use planning, sustainable development, cultural patterns, and technical subjects such as surveying, cartography, GPS, drones, and remote sensing. I feel energized when I sense excitement in my students as they come to understand connections at the nexus of people, land, and environment and how it shapes the world in which they live. To bring this nexus to life I encourage my students to embrace a growth mindset, viewing challenges as opportunities for learning and personal development. In addition to providing a solid foundation of knowledge, I emphasize the development of essential skills such as problem-solving, communication, and collaboration.

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I implement my philosophy through a pedagogy characterized by an interactive and engaging teaching style that develops creative thinking and enthusiasm. The foundation of this pedagogy is established through a learning environment that values and rewards engagement with the course material; thus, enabling my students to understand the inherent value of my courses. From a curricular perspective, students develop critical thinking skills in courses that are well–structured, relevant, up–to–date, and in which standards and expectations are clearly articulated. The distillation of my many years of teaching informs my overriding philosophy that I strive for in the classroom: clarity and precision––in presenting course material, supporting my courses with first-rate pedagogic materials, in detailing expectations, and in expressing the educational goals of my courses.

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Cultivating a Positive and Respectful Learning Environment: The classroom environment is fundamentally important to effective teaching and student learning. Thus, I am committed to creating an inclusive learning environment where every student feels valued and respected regardless of their background, identity, or learning style. I believe in tailoring my approach to the individual needs and learning styles of students, recognizing their unique strengths and challenges.

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Clarity and Precision of Educational Goals: This is the best and most transparent pathway for student success. I want to ensure that they know the objectives for each class meeting and how they are linked to form the integrated outcomes of the course. In so doing I try to make certain students understand essential take-aways—from basic geographic concepts to more integrated and complex spatial interactions.

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Clarity and Precision of Expectations: Clarity of expectations is fundamentally important. My own experience, as a student and as a teacher, suggests that students who are unclear about expectations typically become frustrated and tend to resist learning. I endeavor to clarify in my syllabi, in my assignments, and how I articulate my standards in class, that I have high expectations for my students and that I am invested in establishing conditions for their success. I want them to be confident that they will do well because they understand my expectations.

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Clarity and Precision in Lessons: In all the courses I teach, my goal is that each student understands how natural and human processes drive spatial patterns on the landscape. To accomplish this, lesson materials, labs, and exercises I use to explain geographic concepts must be clearly presented. This clarity manifests itself in my teaching by the selection of the most effective methods and techniques. Thus, I support my courses with carefully crafted teaching support materials: PowerPoint presentations, and first-rate, carefully developed homework assignments, practical exercises, study guides, lab exercises, and in-class projects.

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Linking Course Material to Research: I believe that incorporating my research into courses (where appropriate) is highly beneficial—it enriches them as a learning experience. It furnishes students with real-world examples and applications of the concepts they are learning—it enables them to see how academic concepts are applied in practical settings. I usually supplement reading assignments with my papers and add examples of my research into lessons because they can see how I am actively engaged in the subject matter and hence, they are more likely to be motivated to learn.

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A Final Thought: More than anything, I want my students to recognize my genuine passion for teaching, commitment to their success, and interest in them as individuals. Ultimately, my goal is to equip students with the tools they need to become independent learners, critical thinkers, and responsible contributors to society. Finally, I want my courses to be challenging and fair; but more importantly I want them to be valuable beyond their time at Villanova. Thus, I am compelled to be the kind of teacher that I would want as a student.