Ph.D. Student— School of Information Sciences
My journey to the doctoral program in Information Sciences started during my undergraduate days at Dartmouth College. Dartmouth has a small student enrollment, and makes major efforts to engage undergraduate students in the research and educational experience. Like the Volunteer Spirit, we were also encouraged to participate in activities off-campus which allowed us the opportunity to “give back” to the local community. These opportunities combined allowed me to gain valuable teaching experience early on in my scholastic career by working with the America Reads program and serving as an undergraduate teaching assistant for a materials science course in engineering. Through America Reads, I was able to work with elementary school students from rural New Hampshire and Vermont. This, along with my undergraduate research experience, motivated me to continue my education at the graduate level.
With an interest in consumer behavior, I enrolled in a business graduate program at the University of Wisconsin, where I continued my education as well as my teaching experience as I served as a lecturer for an undergraduate marketing course. I was also able to finish my course requirements for my concentration area early, so I decided to branch out and take some courses I thought were interesting through the Information School (iSchool). Little did I know where that decision would lead me! It was through those iSchool courses that I discovered my true interest in research and teaching— which has led me towards my current path in my academic journey.
The newfound passions for information science research that I discovered at the University of Wisconsin led me to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where I was accepted as a Ph.D. student in the School of Information Sciences. Since then, I have served as the sole instructor for Foundations of Information Technology (INSC 210) and The Internet and Society (INSC 305). I am currently preparing to teach User-Centered Design (INSC 311) this fall which directly relates to my dissertation topic on how people interact with humanoid robots in social contexts. Having the opportunity to teach several undergraduate courses in varying modalities has been greatly rewarding, as it has allowed me to gain valuable skills and experiences for my next career goal: to become a faculty member.
However, I have been able to make the most of these teaching opportunities by taking advantage of the online resources from the TLI and CIRTL programs. Such programs allow graduate students like myself to see what works in terms of our classroom goals and teaching styles across different subjects and academic fields. The information provided by such programs is essential for preparing graduate students for future teaching opportunities after their time here at UT and particularly for establishing effective strategies for teaching.
From those first few classes in New Hampshire to my larger lectures at UT today, I have had a very rewarding experience teaching undergraduate students. I have always tried to prepare my students for the real world by having them participate in design projects that often include coding and the implementation of user interface design principles. I feel that by having these students gain experience in these areas of information science early on, they will be more than prepared to dive into their post-graduate work. The results of this practice have been especially gratifying. I can’t help but light up when I receive emails from students commenting that what they learned in my course was helpful for internships they acquired while at UT. It’s also nice to feel that what I am learning as an instructor is also positively impacting my graduate student experience.
As I enter my 4th year of graduate school, the biggest lesson I have learned is that knowledge builds and that all faculty and staff can play a role in that building process. It’s up to us to continue our own education and practice the same skills that we instruct in our own students. I will continue to do my part of the building process by teaching students foundational skills in information sciences that will assist them– in other courses, and in the career they pursue after Tennessee. But I will also continue to build upon my own education and instruction process as I plan to learn more from the TLI/CIRTL programs while still at Tennessee, and to become a better teacher before the next step in my career.