Teaching Philosophy
Professor Mychajliw’s teaching philosophy is hands-on, place-based, and community-engaged, with an emphasis on active participation in the scientific process and consideration of societal context.
Professor Mychajliw is committed to teaching courses that break the university bubble and allow students to meaningfully apply their knowledge to real-world problems. She also believes that knowledge comes in many forms and can be found in many places, including outside of a classroom.
Teaching Awards
- Biosciences Excellence in Teaching Award, Stanford School of Medicine
- Norman K. Wessells Award for Outstanding Teaching, Stanford Department of Biology
- Departmental Excellence in Teaching Award, Stanford Department of Biology
- Community Engaged Learning and Research Course Grant Award, Haas Center
At Middlebury College this Spring 2021, Professor Mychajliw is currently teaching:
ENVS 112: Natural Science & Environment
BIOL 0392: Conservation Biology
BIOL 0500/0700: Independent Study
Instructor, BIO 128. Geographic Impacts of Global Change: Mapping the Stories
More information and teaching materials can be found at our website.
“There was great satisfaction knowing that the work I was doing for this class directly supported a larger project whose impacts would last well beyond the quarter ends and reach all corners of California. It was really unlike any other class I have taken at Stanford.” – 2014 Bio 128 student
Forces of global change (eg., climate disruption, biodiversity loss, disease) impart wide-ranging political, socioeconomic, and ecological impacts, creating an urgent need for science communication.
Students will collect data for a region of the US using sources ranging from academic journals to popular media and create an interactive Story Map that merges the scientific and human dimensions of global change. Students will interview stakeholders as part of a community-engaged learning experience and present the Map to national policy-makers.
Students bridge the science-policy gap to showcase impacts of global change, Stanford Teaching Commons
Cool New Tool Brings Storytelling to Environmental Science, KCET
Stanford students create interactive tool that tells the story of global change, Stanford Report
Instructor, Conservation Paleoecology at the La Brea Tar Pits, Institute for Field Research
I led an intensive 4 week field course for 12 students, including daily lectures, exams, and field trips. I managed the schedules of 10 staff members to facilitate student experiences in paleontological excavation, specimen preparation, and collections management.
Short Course, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago
I led a short course for 40+ students and interested community members about the ecology, taphonomy, and geology of asphaltic deposits on Trinidad – with lecture, lab, and field components. My goal was to inspire student research on modern and fossil asphaltic systems on Trinidad – and it was successful!
Teaching Assistantships
Stanford University
- Bio 43. Plant Biology, Ecology, Evolution (1 quarter)
- Bio 101. Intro to Ecology (1 quarter)
Cornell University
- BioEE 2780. Evolutionary Biology (1 semester)
- BioEE 2740. Vertebrates: Structure, Function & Evolution (2 semesters)
- BioMG 1290. Personal Genomics & Medicine (2 semesters)
- BioSM 1780. Evolution & Marine Diversity (4 week field course)
- BioEE 1780. Evolution & Biodiversity (2 semesters)
the HEDGE lab 