Virginia

“As a new faculty member, I will be teaching two intro-level courses and anticipate drawing heavily on my experiences in Delta.”

Current Position: Assistant Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science, Plant Breeding and Genetics Section at Cornell University UW–Madison Career: PhD, Plant Breeding & Plant Genetics and MS, Agroecology and Agricultural & Applied Economics Delta Internship Project: Inquiry-Based Learning in Introductory Agronomy What motivated you to start participating in Delta? I knew I was interested in teaching, but the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences does not have many paid TA positions, and Delta seemed like a great way to learn more. How did Delta prepare you for the job market? As a participant in several Delta courses and workshops, I developed teaching, mentoring, and diversity statements. I also consulted with a Delta affiliate during the development of my teaching demo. How did Delta help you become a more effective and evidence-based educator? I conducted a teaching-as-research (TAR) internship project, and used tools and approaches I learned in Delta programming to update curricula for three courses I TA’d. What specific skills from the Delta Program do you use in your current role? As a postdoc, I did not have teaching responsibilities, but have mentored technicians and undergraduates. The Mentoring and Teaching for a Diverse Nation courses in particular helped me to better understand and address communication challenges with my mentees. As a new faculty member, I will be teaching two intro-level courses and anticipate drawing heavily on my experiences in Delta, especially with backward design and inquiry-based learning approaches I explored in my TAR project. How did Delta help you become a more inclusive teacher? I participated in the Delta’s Educating a Diverse Nation and mentorship courses, through which I developed more inclusive teaching and mentoring philosophies and identified concrete tools and approaches to increase inclusivity. How did Delta help you become a better mentor and advisor? I was involved in the mentorship course as a participant and then as a facilitator. This course directly informed the approaches I took when resolving mentoring challenges in my subsequent role.