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Teaching 

My teaching philosophy is guided by three core goals. I aspire to:

  • Foster critical thinking skills and encourage students to challenge the interpretations of the world around them to become curious and engaged scientists and citizens.

  • Facilitate community, collaboration, and cooperation as valued strategies to achieve learning and research goals and to become compassionate and creative researchers and colleagues.

  • Provide students with the tools they need to understand, investigate, and solve complex problems and become conscientious decision-makers in their future endeavors.

Julia receiving the 2023 Deans' Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Duke University Graduate School

As an educator, I aim to engage students in interdisciplinary social sciences and critical theory through an inclusive and adaptive teaching style, working to meet individual students' needs and incorporate diverse perspectives into course materials. To do so, I develop curricula based on real-world examples and inclusive of diverse voices. I aim too diversify my curricula by introducing multiple histories, philosophies, and knowledge systems to decenter dominant Eurocentric academic discourses and by facilitating spaces and resources for dialogue between multiple perspectives. I work to make course content interactive and accessible across student backgrounds, interests, needs, and learning styles through varied communication, teaching, and accessibility tools. I focus on student outcomes in course design, and utilize process oriented strategies of applied learning and discussion to facilitate students’ achievements of these outcomes. I encourage continuous feedback from students to continually adjust and improve my teaching to better serve students’ needs.

​​Courses Taught
  • Marine Policy (Instructor of Record); undergraduate course, Duke University Marine Lab (DUML), Fall 2022
  • Indigenous knowledges and Science in Fisheries (co-instructed with Dr. Grant Murray, Duke); graduate student seminar, Duke University Marine Lab (DUML), Spring 2021
  • Conservation Biology and Policy (co-instructed with Dr. Rachel Gittman, ECU); undergraduate course, Duke University Marine Lab (DUML), Summer 2019
 
Teaching Assistantships 
  • Social Impact Analysis; DUML, Spring 2020
  • Marine Policy; DUML, Fall 2019
  • Marine Spatial Planning; DUML, Spring 2019
  • Marine Megafauna; DUML, Spring 2018
  • Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy; DUML, Fall 2017
Guest Lectures
  • Commercial fishing communities and floating offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine, University of Rhode Island, Apr 2024
  • Considering Environmental Justice in Fisheries and Aquaculture through Dimensions of Governance, Duke Nicholas School Climate Justice & Global Intersectionality (CJGI) seminar, Oct 2023
  • Resource Sovereignty as ​Environmental Justice ​in a First Nations Salmon Fishery​; Duke Nicholas School CJGI seminar, November 2022
  • The Political Ecology of Applied Marine Ecology; DUML, Oct 2020
  • Social Environmental Values of Aquaculture in Down East News Media; DUML, Oct 2019
  • Social-ecological Impacts and Trade-offs in Coastal Conservation; DUML, July 2019
  • Social Environmental Values and Discourse in Coastal Conservation Policy; DUML, July 2019
  • Adaptive Management in Marine Spatial Planning; DUML, April 2019
  • Physiology and Ecology of Pinnipeds; Duke University, April 2018
  • Marine Trophic Ecology; Duke University 3x, 2018 - 2020
  • Evolutionary Biology of Marine Megafauna; Duke University, Jan 2018
  • Fisheries and Ocean Ecosystems: ecology and policy; Duke Law School, Oct 2018
  • Coastal watersheds: ecology and policy; Duke Law School, Sept 2018
  • Gooseneck Barnacle Fishery Development & Research; Pacific University, Jan 2017
Pedagogy
  • Certificate in College Teaching ; Duke University, completed 2023
    • 10 hours of peer-observed college level teaching​ 
    • Pedagogical Coursework: College Teaching and Course Design; Facilitating Student Learning and Teaching Innovation 
Awards
  • 2023 Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching 
    • Awarded by the Graduate School of Duke University
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