Hello!
 |
| I wish this was my dog. Alas, it is not. I'm a cat guy anyway. |
I’m Jonathan Brown and I’m in my first year of the Stat Ed –
QME program. My path into this program has
been quite an adventure, and I’m very happy to be here!
Growing up and heading into undergrad, I had aspirations to
figure out the Universe at the most fundamental level, as well as protect the
Earth from potentially apocalyptic asteroids.
Accordingly, I earned a Bachelor of Science from UW-Madison in 2009, majoring
in Astronomy-Physics, with a Business minor.
I conducted astronomy research from 2007-2009, analyzing quasar spectra
in an attempt to characterize hydrogen gas clouds through their interference
with said spectra. I was fortunate to spend a year teaching physics through the Physics Department's Peer-Mentor-Tutor program, providing educational support to first-generation students and students from underrepresented groups enrolled in introductory physics courses.
While the joy of
cosmology and physics never left me, issues on the social side of science
sparked my interest, and I sought to dive into other aspects of science, other
than the science itself. This included
teaching, policy, and ethical issues.
This lead to me earning a Master of Science in Science and Technology
Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota in
2012, with a Public Health minor. I
focused my attention on nanotechnology policy, and conducted research on the
public perception of nanotechnology in food.
I was additionally a statistics teaching assistant for two half-semester
classes and loved it.
Following my
Master’s degree, I stayed at the Humphrey School for two years as a research
fellow, working on issues of nanotechnology in food, women’s experiences in
science and technology policy careers, and the impact of university research on
domestic food safety.
As I pondered my next steps, I realized that I missed
teaching and had unexplored passions for improving education, specifically,
quantitative education. I began fondly
thinking back to my times teaching physics in undergrad and statistics in my
Master’s program. Following
recommendations from peers, I discovered the Stat Ed group within the QME
program and it struck me like an inspirational lightning bolt that this was where I next
wanted to be. I strongly desired to not
only teach quantitative material, but to make such teaching better and
positively impact students as much as possible.
My primary research interest within statistics education is
teaching assistant and instructor development, but I am happy researching
numerous areas, issues, and topics.
Being given the opportunity to teach statistics while conducting and
potentially implementing research to improve statistics education is awesome!
Outside of school and work, my life is filled with two other
activities: fitness and improv. Among
the joys and sanity I derive from fitness and sports, sprinting is my favorite
pastime. I hope to indefinitely compete
in friendly track meets in the 200 meter, 400 meter, and possibly the
mile. I've been training in and doing
improv for over a year, and have enjoyed successes and experiences that I never
could have imagined. I’m currently a
part of one improv group and am hoping to stay indefinitely connected to the
stage. Additionally, as a wonderful externality, my teaching has definitely strengthened due to my improv training and experience. Many improv principles directly apply to teaching of any kind!
