The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers, who can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered.

-Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

I believe the goal of education is not just to produce students who know course content; it is to produce students who understand the content and have the creativity, confidence, and ambition to venture beyond what is known to develop new interpretations of and discoveries about their worlds.

(My Teaching Philosophy is continued here)

Teaching Experiences

At the California Polytechnic State University (2014 – present)

HLTH 260: Women’s Health Issues

This course provides an introduction to major health issues that affect women disproportionately or differently from men. Topics include female sexual health and reproduction, exercise and eating behaviors, substance abuse, mental health and stress, and violence against women.

HLTH 453: Obesity Prevention and Treatment

In this course, we utilize a life-course perspective to understand the causes and consequences of obesity. We examine all developmental stages, from preconception to older adulthood, to understand the key factors that contribute to obesity. In addition, we explore modifiable factors, such as motivation, lifestyle choices, and social support, that can be targeted within evidence-based prevention and treatment interventions. An emphasis is placed on developing students’ interpersonal and counseling skills related to promoting weight control in multidisciplinary health promotion and public health settings.

KINE 453: Lifestyle Prescriptions for Wellness

This course is designed to enhance understanding of weight, physical activity, and dietary recommendations for diverse patient populations. Students will learn strategies to effectively communicate with patients and promote health behaviors in multidisciplinary exercise science and health promotion settings.

KINE 461: Senior Project Report

This course guides students through a comprehensive synthesis of professional literature that integrates content from kinesiology courses. The end result of this synthesis is a written report. This course is intended to be a culminating experience.

KINE 518: Thesis Proposal Writing

This course provides a practical framework for planning and implementing research projects suitable for research or thesis work.  Quantitative and qualitative research projects and data collection methods are discussed. Students gain practical experience in obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, seeking funding from external sources (e.g., grants), and pilot-testing their proposed project.  A formal research prospectus or thesis proposal is formulated.

 

At Drexel University (2011 – 2014)

NFS 100/101: Introduction to Nutrition and Food

This course covers the six nutrient categories and how they function in the body. Includes nutritional implications of major diseases, food safety issues, and current food and nutrition controversies with an emphasis on personal health. This course includes a laboratory component wherein students complete a computerized nutrient analysis and apply the science of nutrition and food to food choices to improve their personal health.

NFS 215: Nutritional Chemistry

This course introduces students to the chemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, and enzymes and their behavior in the body’s major metabolic mechanisms.

NFS 217: Nutrient Quality and Composition

This course provides an application of the principles of nutritional chemistry.

NFS 525: Nutritional Assessment Through the Life Cycle

This course guides students through advanced study of the nutritional needs and concerns throughout the human lifecycle. We discuss the biological basis of energy and nutrient needs, identify energy and nutrient needs, discuss selected methods of nutritional assessment, and examine the consequences of failing to meet certain needs throughout the life-course.

 

At Temple University (2010)

PH 1104: Nutrition and Health

This course introduces basic nutrition concepts and the role of nutrition in human health.

 

At The Pennsylvania State University (2006-2010)

HDFS 129: Introduction to Human Development & Family Studies

This course introduces students to psychosocial and family development at all stages of the individual and family life cycle. This course provides a basic introduction to the concepts, theories, and research on human development as it occurs over the life span and in context. Students will be introduced to developmental tasks and challenges unique to each stage of human development from the womb through infancy, early and middle childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood, middle age, and old age.

HDFS 229: Infant and Child Development

This course covers theory, research, and methods of social/behavioral/biological sciences related to developmental processes and intervention during infancy and childhood. Students are introduced to the study of children from the prenatal period to (not including) adolescence. Students become familiar with the most prominent theoretical ideas about child development.

HDFS 312W: Introduction to Empirical Inquiry

This course introduces students to the skills involved in critical thinking in general and the methods of empirical inquiry in particular.