Jess Kapp

Associate Professor of Practice
Associate Department Head

My first love is teaching! As an Associate Professor of Practice and the Associate Department Head in the Department of Geosciences I have the privilege of engaging with UA undergraduates every day. I teach a general education geology course for non-science majors (Geos 170), advise our undergraduate geology club (SESS – the Society of Earth Science Students), teach a 200–level course for majors (Geos 255 – Historical Geology), and participate in our undergraduate policy and curriculum committee, who are always working to improve the undergraduate experience for our majors. I also work with faculty on using active learning strategies in the classroom. I have taught classes as small as eight students and as large as 950 students, and I am a firm believer that no matter the size of the class, engaged learning can (and should) happen. I am also very interested in creating curriculum and experiences that make geology more accessible to all students, and am in the process of developing an on-line version of my general education course. Ultimately, I would like to spearhead an effort to create an on-line geosciences degree, making geology accessible not only to the outdoorsy, but for anyone who has a passion for the science and access to a computer.  I also work to encourage young women to explore the sciences – we need more women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields! A great first step is to preceptor a class – come talk to me about opportunities to be a part of a teaching team here in geosciences.