• Home
  • About
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Blog
  • Press
  • Contact
TAYLOR TAI

T E A C H I N G

In my role as a mentor and instructor, I aim to interrupt the patterns of systemic oppression that are pervasive in academic science. Showing up as a capable educator for my students means employing culturally-competent teaching practices, meeting students where they are regardless of learning style or academic background, and recognizing that my assumptions and words have real consequences for the accessibility of course material. Outside of the classroom, being an advocate for diversity includes not only espousing supportive attitudes but also taking action to hold myself, colleagues, and supervisors accountable for the ways that we are complicit in creating an exclusionary culture.

​I am passionate about supporting underrepresented students because while science is an exciting and beautiful field of study, it functions poorly when not everyone has a seat at the table. As an instructor, a member of an elite university, and a beneficiary of the model minority myth, I believe it is my responsibility to use my power to make room for other historically marginalized voices. Concurrent with my Ph.D., I am pursuing a Delta Certificate at UW-Madison in order to gain the training and skills needed to 
address issues of representation and inclusivity in the biological sciences through teaching.

COURSES TAUGHT

ZOO152 – Introductory Biology Lab (TA) | Fall 2017
University of Wisconsin-Madison

BIOL030 – Animal Behavior (TA) | Fall 2014
Swarthmore College

RESOURCES AT UW-MADISON

Delta and CIRTL Teaching/Learning Communities
workshops, events, seminars, and classes on inclusive teaching practices

Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI)
programming and support for women and minorities in science


Multicultural Student Center SJ Workshops
tailored racial justice training for instructors, labs, departments, and other campus groups

Active Teaching Labs (DoIt)
opportunities to learn and discuss a variety of tools and techniques for effective teaching

RECOMMENDED READING

A Long Way to Go: Conversations about Race by African American Faculty and Graduate Students (Darrel Cleveland, ed.)

Case Studies in Inclusive Teaching in STEM (Sherrill L. Sellers, Katherine A. Friedrich, Nilhan Gunasekera, Tabassum Saleem, Judith N. Burstyn)


Diversity's Promise for Higher Education: Making It Work (Daryl G. Smith)

Interrogating Whiteness and Relinquishing Power: White Faculty's Commitment to Racial Consciousness in STEM Classrooms (Nicole M. Joseph, Chayla Haynes, & Floyd Cobb, eds.)

Is Everyone Really Equal? An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education (Özlem Sensoy & Robin DiAngelo)

Strategic Diversity Leadership: Activating Change and Transformation in Higher Education (Damon A. Williams)


  • Home
  • About
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Blog
  • Press
  • Contact