Zachary Zalewski was a Scientific Teaching Fellow in 2021 while pursuing a PhD in plant pathology. Today, he is an assistant professor at University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash College, where he teaches microbiology, ecology and evolution, and introductory biology. He explains, “This is an open access college where teaching is my primary focus, and I have the pleasure of working with a diverse group of students from all walks of life.”
As a self-described nerd and someone with many interests, there are many things he enjoys doing in his free time: playing D&D and similar games with friends, playing video games, reading anything and everything, and dabbling in sketching and watercolors when he is feeling brave. He and his wife (whom he met at UW–Madison) also enjoy long walks, salsa, and pickleball.
What was one of the most valuable things you learned as a Fellow?
Content is just one small portion of education, and often a much smaller portion than we’d like to think. As a Fellow, I learned to view each class as an opportunity to help students build critical thinking skills, useful career skills, and passion for learning about how the world works. Of course, each class inevitably forces students to engage with some specific content, but, as much as possible, I try to intentionally select content (and an appropriate level of detail) with these three goals in mind. If we can help students learn how to learn, we improve their odds of success no matter which path they end up walking.
How have you applied the skills and knowledge from this program in your career?
I apply the skills I developed as a Scientific Teaching Fellow every single day of my career. No exaggeration. I was lucky enough to land a teaching job right out of graduate school, and I honestly do not believe I would have made it through the interview process if not for the WISCIENCE program. As a professor at an open access college, many of my students are underprepared and struggle to acclimate to the academic system. The skills I built as a Teaching Fellow prepared me to view my students’ education from a holistic perspective and helped me structure the classroom to be more welcoming, inclusive, and engaging for students from any background. This is, of course, an ongoing pursuit, and I still rely on these skills while I continually work towards improving all aspects of my teaching.
What excites you about teaching?
I love the iterative nature of teaching. I haven’t been a professor for long, but so far, even after teaching the same class six semesters in a row, I still find it fun and exciting. Each semester brings new students with unique personalities, fresh perspectives, and unforeseen challenges. Each lecture/activity is another opportunity to gather data (either formally or informally) so I can fiddle around and make improvements. At the end of each course, I simultaneously feel like I can rest easy (since all my hard work will carry over to the next iteration) and I feel overwhelmed by all the changes I want to make. It’s a good balance.
What advice do you have for new Fellows coming into this program?
Do your best to build a network of trusted colleagues. Every student is unique and comes with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. In my opinion, the most challenging (and rewarding) part of the job is endeavoring to meet the needs of as many students as I can. Of course, I lack the tools needed to meet every challenge my students throw at me, but happily I am able to lean on the experiences of my many friends and colleagues to make up for anything I (currently) lack.
Learn more about Scientific Teaching Fellows.