BARBARA CARRAPA

Teaching philosophy

Mentoring, advising and teaching graduate and undergraduate students is an integral part of my teaching goals. Over my academic career I have created an active research group composed of several graduate and undergraduate students doing research with me on different projects in the North American Cordillera, Andes, Tibet, Pamir, Nepal among other places. Several of my graduate students have continued their careers in academia either as Ph.D. students, post-doctoral fellows or young faculty members.
I deeply care about student education and I feel strongly about keeping high standards when teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I use a combined approach including teaching contents with experiential learning approaches including “Hands-on learning” through fieldwork and “reflection on doing” in the classroom. 
My approach to advising students is always aimed at providing basic knowledge and constant support in order for students to conduct their own research independently and critically. Moreover, a key element of my approach is to develop in the student a high level of independence in terms of both decision-making and scientific approach. My teaching and advising effort is organized to find and test innovative ways to transfer basic concepts and knowledge to the students both in class and through involvement of students in research.
During my time at the University of Arizona, I have taught core undergraduate level classes such as “Earth History”, “Stratigraphy and Sedimentology”, “Field Camp” and upper level undergraduate and graduate level classes (Applications in Low Temperature Thermochronology; Sedimentary Basin Analysis). I have also organized and contributed to honor seminars (Science and Society) and developed a new honor class (Geology of the National Parks). I am the faculty representative for our Geosciences honor students.
I am committed to maintaining and growing a vigorous graduate and undergraduate research program.