My overall teaching goals are to help students learn the subjects I teach, to inspire students’ imagination and enthusiasm in scientific inquiry, to help students get better prepared to meet the intellectual and technological challenges of the future, and ultimately to become responsible and useful citizens. I believe we cannot solve the future problems for students in today’s classroom. The only thing we can do now is to help our students get better prepared, equipping them with today’s cutting-edge knowledge and essential technical skills (e.g., Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems, Global Position System, Computer Programming, and Statistical Analysis), empowering them with critical thinking ability to creatively use the knowledge gained in the classrooms to solve the real-world problems. Ultimately, students gain the ability to learn by themselves so that they can always obtain the needed knowledge to solve the problems in the world they live in the future. I also believe that it is not enough for a student to be successful in their future life with technological know-how only. A student also needs to possess essential leadership skills as well as a collaborative spirit in order to succeed in the future. Everyone in my class deserves to be respected and treated equally regardless of his/her political belief, place of origin, race, and sexual orientation. These are the guiding philosophies for my teaching.
Currently, I currently teach Geog 237 (Natural Resources-Forestry) and Geog 702 (Research Design). I taught Geog 577 (Advanced Remote Sensing) and Geog 410 (Modeling of Environmental Systems) regularly in the past. I occasionally teach Geog 370 (Introduction to Geographic Information) as needed, and Geog 567 (Geospatial Analysis with Google Earth Engine). In the past, I taught Geog 110 (Environmental Systems), Geog 391 (Quantitative Methods), and Geog 595 (Ecological Modeling). I also teach a graduate seminar once in a while.