Advising and Mentoring Graduate Students
At the Siebel Center for Design, I work closely with Ph.D. graduate students from the different colleges at the university as they use design thinking to pursue their research around topics such as creativity, metacognition, empathy, and learning analytics. I guide the students in conducting literature reviews, problematizing the literature, refining research questions, selecting the appropriate methods for data collection and analysis, and writing conference proposals.
Learning Theories in Science Education
At the Siebel Center for Design and through the College of Education at UIUC, I had the opportunity to develop and teach an Online 8-week course on Learning in Science for teachers pursuing a master’s degree in science education. The course aimed at introducing the teachers to the learning theories that influence science learning and the ways to support that learning. Specifically, the course engaged the teachers in an ongoing writing assignment that urged them to use their knowledge of the learning theories to describe the design and implementation of a learner-centered activity that they will use to teach a science concept.
Methods of Educational Inquiry
As a graduate student, I assisted in teaching a course on Methods of Educational Inquiry for graduate education students. A major assignment in this course was to conduct a literature review on the topic of research interest. To support beginning researchers and help them develop confidence in their methods to pursue their research interests, I provided positive and constructive detailed feedback on multiple drafts of their literature reviews. I was also available to conduct one-on-one meetings with students to assist them in overcoming challenges in thinking about and presenting their ideas as they wrote their literature reviews.
Methods for Teaching Science
As a graduate student, I taught Methods for Teaching Science for pre-service elementary teachers for two consecutive semesters. During this course, I always encouraged the teachers to think about, discuss, and demonstrate the use of teaching approaches that can help their future students learn with and about science. I also assisted the teachers in designing lesson plans that align with the Next Generation Science Standards and that help students modify their misconceptions of key concepts in elementary science.
Middle and High School Chemistry
I taught chemistry for seven years in different middle and high schools in Beirut, Lebanon. During my years of teaching, my continuous goal was to establish a learner-centered environment in the classroom. I planned and implemented classroom and laboratory activities that are authentic and challenging for the students so that they are motivated and stimulated to think collaboratively and critically. The use of technology and computer-based material, such as smart boards, probes, laboratory software, Moodle, and YouTube, was central to the design and implementation of these activities.