How did you find this research assistantship?
I had been a Research Assistant at the UT Insect Collection since the Fall of 2022. Since I was already employed at a biodiversity collection, I figured it would be perfect to incorporate it into a Connecting Experience.
What kind of work did you do as a research assistant and what did you learn through this experience?
My duties at the Insect Collection included preparing and identifying specimens that had been collected or donated. Then, I input the data associated with the specimens into our database and put them away in the collection drawers. In addition to this, I worked with my faculty mentor, Dr. Deanna Buckley, to create lesson plans related to insect biology. I learned so much from her about effective and engaging science teaching through inquiry-based and hands-on activities.
What was the most rewarding aspect of your Connecting Experience?
The most rewarding part of my Connecting Experience was getting to try out my lesson plans at a few schools. The students responded really well to the hands-on activities and asked great questions about insects. Their favorite part was looking at the drawers of preserved insects I brought from the collection. This was reassuring to me that education based out of museums and collections is still relevant and useful for impactful education.
In what ways has this Connecting Experience shaped your plans for the future?
I emerged from this Connecting Experience with a deeper understanding of teaching and some practical, concrete methods to apply that understanding to informal science communication. Moving forward with these skills, I feel more confident applying to jobs in the museum field. I am so grateful that this experience gave me a taste of what it’s like to work in the museum world on the curation and education side. I feel more confident in my choice to pursue a career in science education, because I enjoyed this Connecting Experience so much.
Discuss the relationship that you had with your faculty mentor, and how they helped you during this Connecting Experience.
Dr. Buckley was absolutely amazing as a mentor, and I could not be more grateful to her. She gave me lots of positive feedback on my ability to take strategies from literature she shared with me and apply them to the lessons I was building. I am extremely grateful for her mentorship and investment in myself and this project. She provided me with many practical methods that left me feeling prepared to use what I have learned in this experience in the future.