I taught the introductory course on the Solar System for two semesters at Ithaca College while continuing my research at Cornell. The Physics Department at IC had just completed an experimental classroom to facilitate group learning activities. The room had no front or stage, and the students sat facing each other at round tables, which helped me to diverge some from the traditional lecture format. It was a great experience.

I taught general physics each of my three semesters at Virginia Tech. This included both (1) calculus-based physics for freshmen in engineering and science and (2) physics without calculus for students in biological disciplines. Each semester, I was responsible for 2 or 3 sections, ranging in size from 80 to 120 students each. My favorite part of the course? Motivating students to tackle a challenging subject. Despite the sheer number of students I had each semester, I was able to give one-on-one attention to the students who needed it (including a few who didn't realize that I'd spot them even if they didn't approach me).

The summer before I completed my Ph.D., Montana needed someone to teach their concurrent summer courses on planetary and stellar astronomy. Lecturing 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, didn't lead to a lot of progress on my dissertation that summer, but I had a lot of fun. Most memorable was the open house we held during the partial solar eclipse. One of the department engineers linked a heliostat on the roof with a closed-circuit large-format television monitor in the lecture hall, and several hundred people came by to view it! I was very impressed with the interest in astronomy among the citizens of Missoula, and this was the first time I made the evening news.

After my first year of graduate school, I volunteered (begged really) to teach the introductory astronomy course offered during the summer school. This was such a good experience, I volunteered again the next summer I was available.

While in grad school, I also served as a teaching assistant for virtually every course the department offered (but then, who hasn't?).