Danny Minahan was a WISCIENCE Scientific Teaching Fellow in 2018 while pursuing a PhD in zoology. Today, he is a postdoctoral scholar at Tel Aviv University studying the role of acoustic sound in mediating plant-pollinator interactions. He is also an instructor at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES) in southern Israel, teaching a course titled “Pollination and Food Production in a Changing World.” The mission of AIES is to give the next generation of leaders the tools they need to build sustainable solutions to environmental challenges within a framework of regional peace-building and cooperation. Around 70% of the student population are Israeli, Palestinian, or Jordanian, with the remaining 30% from outside the region. These efforts have led to the director of AIES, Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, to receive the AAAS David and Betty Hamburg award for Science Diplomacy.
In his free time, Danny absolutely loves spending time with his two dogs, Rupee and Ozzie, and doing outdoor activities like trail running and camping. He also enjoys learning to speak Hebrew as a second language.
What was your favorite part of this program?
The opportunity to meet and learn from peers spread across campus with the shared goal of delivering a novel introductory biology course. It really was an exceptional exercise in team building and collaboration.
What was one of the most valuable things you learned as a Fellow?
The importance of formulating a vision for course and lesson development that is articulated through learning goals and objectives. This skill expands beyond the classroom and into my own research, and even my day-to-day life. Laying out a dynamic vision for the day, week, month, or year can really help maintain a sense of accomplishment, growth, and inner reflection, by maintaining perspective in the present.
How have you applied the skills and knowledge from this program in your career?
Yes, definitely! There is no way I would have found this amazing opportunity with AIES to apply my passion for science and teaching within a framework of sustainability, social cohesion, and peace-building. Because of my experience as a Teaching Fellow, I was able to develop a course of my own, present it to the school, and through dialogue and peer review, have it accepted into the curriculum. I directly applied what I learned as a Teaching Fellow to this process and it was met with resoundingly positive feedback.
What advice do you have for new Fellows coming into this program?
Come into this program excited and ready to share your ideas, to hear the ideas of others, and to learn globally valuable teaching skills. All of which will be integrated into a previously unforeseen whole that will comprise a one-of-a-kind course.
Learn more about Scientific Teaching Fellows.