Teaching Philosophy
In both upbringing and formal education, I am the product of Liberal Arts thinking and instruction, and I bring this perspective to my teaching. In all of my teaching, I seek to rigorously teach the scientific fundamentals as well as add complexity and nuance to my students’ understanding of the world. I seek to accomplish this both within the strict scientific discipline (sedimentology, tectonics, etc.) and also in regard to human, social, and economic realms. I believe that this applied scientific approach best enables students to leverage their knowledge in whatever path they choose and provides them with the best preparation to take on the challenges of the future.
I always integrate my own research into my teaching. I believe that one common shortcoming in science education is that it depicts scientific inquiry as a straightforward and logical pursuit of problems with clear answers and simple interpretations. Left out of this picture is the reality that truth in the natural world is incredibly elusive. The knowledge necessary for the simple cartoon of a subduction zone in the geology textbook took many decades to gather and interpret; the easily interpreted pattern on the geologic map is not at all obvious when actually hiking over that terrain. Science is hard, and the natural world still harbors vast unknowns. Learning about and conducting research helps students approach problems critically and creatively and encourages them to challenge existing ideas. Also, it enables students to engage the idea that there remain immense gaps in our understanding of the natural world, and that there is still no clear understanding of many of the processes that shape the earth’s physical landscape.
Courses
Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (NMT)
This course is one of my primary teaching interests, and I teach it every spring semester at New Mexico Tech. Objectives for this course are that students leave the course able to (1) describe and predict how a given depositional environment will be preserved in the rock record, (2) reconstruct depositional environment and provenance from sedimentary outcrops, (3) apply quantitative reasoning and skills to sedimentary systems including calculation of uncertainties, and (4) access and synthesize published scientific literature. Topics include the basic physics of sediment transport and weathering; depositional processes; alluvial, fluvial, deltaic, shallow marine, lacustrine, and turbidite depositional systems; sequence stratigraphy; and rudimentary basin geodynamics. Because of spectacular outcrops surrounding Socorro, NM, the lab involved eleven in-class field trips covering late Paleozoic to Quaternary time.
Depositional Systems and Basin Analysis (NMT)
This advanced undergraduate/graduate course every other fall. The learning objectives are that students will leave the course able to explain and apply basic geodynamic principles to sedimentary basin formation; apply the fundamentals of modern basin analysis techniques to unknown basins; explain and compare tectonic settings of sedimentary basins; interpret sediment provenance datasets, and predict basin stratigraphy in convergent, extensional, strike-slip, and intraplate basin settings. In addition to lecture, this course makes use of the excellent local exposures of Rio Grande Rift fill and seismic interpretation exercises.
Tectonics (NMT)
This advanced undergraduate/graduate course is offered every other year and is often co-taught with other NMT faculty specializing in tectonics. Each offering, the course introduces the fundamentals of plate tectonics and geodynamics and then focuses on a specific aspect of tectonics of a specific tectonic system for the remainder of the course. Recent example of course foci include the Laramide Orogeny and subduction zone processes. Course learning objectives are: by the end of this course, students will be able to (1) describe the fundamentals of modern plate tectonics including lithospheric structure, plate boundary interactions, and supercontinent cycles; (2) discuss in detail the tectonic history and processes of the area of course focus (3) be able collect field data that can be used to interpret the tectonic history of a geographic region. Class time for this course is split between lectures, student presentations, and sessions devoted to working through a dataset collected as part of the final project.
Advanced Depositional Systems (NMT)
This graduate seminar takes an in-depth look at a particular sedimentary depositional system or setting. During the fall of 2019, this course focuses on deepwater depositional systems and turbidite fans. The learning objectives are that students will become familiar with peer-reviewed literature on deepwater systems, understand and apply prominent lithofacies and process models to rocks in the field and in core, and apply their understanding of these systems to their own research. Topics include the basic physics of sediment gravity flow processes, classical turbidite facies models, submarine fan models, coarse-grained turbidites, turbidites in muddy systems, hybrid-event beds, and shelf turbidites. Specific case studies from the Magallanes, Great Valley, Permian, and Karoo basins are also included. This course includes a 5-day field trip to the Permian Reef complex in southeastern New Mexico.
Other Courses
In addition to the classes listed above, I am interested in teaching classes on Advanced Sedimentology, Tectonics, The Geology of Energy, and Scientific and Geographic Exploration.