Teaching is at the heart of what we do at ACU and the heart of my role at the University. It is what brought me to Abilene. I saw a love for helping students learn and grow in both the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the wider university. I love teaching. There are so many parts of this profession that I enjoy and am passionate about. I enjoy working with students and seeing their excitement when they learn something new. I like learning and/ or developing new ways to help student learn. I also relish how much I learn as I explain material to students. It is amazing how much my depth of understanding of biochemistry has increased during the 11 years that I have taught at ACU.

During my time at ACU, I have taught 12 courses. I have taught from our lowest numbered course Chem 101 Consumer Chemistry, a non-majors general Education course, to some of our highest sequenced course Chem 453 and 454, Biochemistry I and II, the senior level Biochemistry sequence. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every course I have taught. Sometimes, when I took on a new class, I would think, “I need to teach this class, but I’m not going to enjoy it.” Every time though, I find new things to learn and the students, which are my favorite part, are still students.

When I am feeling discouraged about teaching, I try to remind myself to go back and read notes from my former students. These serve to remind me that I do have a role to play in their futures and that there is real meaning to this work. It is an encouragement to see how I have made an impact on their lives and have helped prepare them for the things they are doing next.

Over the next several pages I will write about and reflect on different aspects of my teaching experience including my Philosophy of Teaching, my Reflection on Faith and Learning, New Teaching Methods, and Lessons from Student Evaluations.