My teaching philosophy is to facilitate critical thinking and creative inquiry through active learning and student-centered assessment/feedback. I foster a supportive learning environment where students are encouraged to forge connections among concepts, both within the course and within the real world. A focal point in my teaching is to provide access, opportunity, and support to students from all backgrounds.
Below are courses that I have taught as a lecturer or instructor of record.  I am a fellow of the Mobile Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching and incorporate evidence-based best practices into my teaching.

Parasitology - EBIO 3630 - University of Colorado Boulder

Overview: Parasites are some of the most bizarre organisms on the planet, which makes them an exciting topic of study. Moreover, the diseases that parasites cause also have real world implications for human health, agriculture, and wildlife. In this course, students are exposed to the broad diversity of parasites on our planet, while framing them in concepts of ecology and evolution. The laboratory portion of the course is designed to give students a hands-on experience with parasites and involves dissections, live demonstrations, and observation of preserved specimens.
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Course goals (learning objectives and diversity goals) from Parasitology with achievement ranked anonymously by students.
Tara taught Parasitology as a lecturer in Spring 2020 both in-person (first 2/3 of the semester) and remotely using zoom (during COVID).

Ecology of Infectious Disease - PATH 527 - University of Illinois​

Overview: A discussion seminar for undergraduates and graduates from diverse fields, including ecology, evolutionary biology, pathology, anthropology, and mathematics. Students read Hatcher & Dunn's Parasites in Ecological Communities and discuss accompanying papers selected from the literature.  Discussions span broad themes in disease ecology, including quantitative approaches to epidemiology and disease dynamics resulting from different forms of transmission. Parasitism is also explored as a classic species interaction in ecological communities, and students discuss how parasites regulate hosts, mediate competition, and are used as biological control agents.
Tara taught Ecology of Infectious Disease in Fall 2016 as a co-instructor of record with Rebecca Smith and Gianluigi Rossi.