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Rachel Havranek is a fourth year PhD student studying Geological Sciences. Her research focuses on how information about the hydrologic cycle is recorded in the geologic record. Rachel was recently awarded a Teaching Excellence Award based on her teaching philosophy and dedication to her students. We asked Rachel a few questions to learn more about her as a teacher and get to know her better. Read more below!

What is your favorite part about teaching?

The most rewarding part of teaching to me is developing genuine and meaningful relationships with my students. I love those moments where I find something that really clicks with a student, and creates a path for us to move forward together. The moments where I can help to guide students further down the road of their own learning and career paths are particularly gratifying.

Please tell us a little bit about your pedagogical philosophy.

My pedagogical philosophy is built on the fundamental idea that geology, and our experience with geology, doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and rather our context drives how we interact and learn about the world around us. I work to build a classroom where every student gets to bring in their authentic identity with all of its strengths and challenges to the task at hand. This means that in my classroom, we are all doing the work of learning to learn, and pushing ourselves to improve. I also encourage my students to continually try to draw connections and see broad patterns between different topics by continually stepping back and examining the context we’re coming from.

Do you have a favorite teaching resource you would like to share with other graduate teachers?

My current favorite teaching resource is . This website has a plethora of resources about universal design for learning.

Do you have any recommendations for continuing or increasing student advocacy and engagement?

I have found that I have increased student advocacy and engagement by very explicitly stating early and often that I want to be a partner in my students’ self-advocacy. Throughout the semester I build in specific moments that are pointed just towards the students getting to know me, as a person, and getting to know my students outside of our specific classroom context. By creating meaningful and trusting relationships with my students, I open the door for them to bring in their challenges with their successes into the classroom. More recently, I have been working on building-in where I acknowledge the work and achievements of students who are afforded less social power in my classroom so that students understand that everyone in that room is deserving of respect.

Tell us a fun fact about you that is not related to your teaching and research.

I taught 3-6 ski school for 4 seasons, and used lots of pocket gummy bears as motivation!

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates - I loved this book because it created a rich and complicated world that was easy to become completely immersed in.

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?

Chief Justice John Marshall, because it would be fascinating to talk to the man who cemented the Supreme Court as an independent body that can exercise judicial review.