Alien Worlds: What Kinds of Life Will We Find on Other Planets?

Hello there! Thanks for coming to my profile.

Things I love to teach: science, particularly life-sciences, natural history, and evolution; and art, ranging from simple drawings for beginning artists to advanced oil-painting techniques for advanced learners.

Personally, I'm also just a huge fan of science, and I love learning about it, talking about it, and teaching it, particularly focusing on life sciences. As an undergrad at Penn State University, I took as many science classes as I could, dealing with biology, anthropology, psychology, and sociology, and I graduated with high honors with a social-science degree. (Then I got a JD (law degree) from University of Florida.)

When teaching science, I like to use stories, analogies, and graphics to make complex scientific concepts come alive for students. Also, I encourage students to use critical thinking and creativity to work out answers to questions. I believe that not only helps students to understand more difficult topics, but also helps them to retain the information longer.

I was once certified to teach middle school science, high school biology, and middle school social science in Florida, USA, though I never used those certifications in a classroom.

Regarding art, I've been a part-time, professional artist for almost 20 years. I began watercolor painting at the age of 4, switched to oil painting at 9, and have been at it ever since. My art hangs in homes (and some businesses) around the country and on three continents. My typical subjects are landscapes, wildlife, and figures, often covering subjects like predator-prey relationships of natural history and human cultural developments.

Having been home-schooled myself when I was a child, I'm a real fan of that educational style (I plan to home school my daughter), and I'm excited to help other home-schooling parents and their kids to learn.

Have an art, science, or science-art request or idea? I'd love to hear it!