Dennis’ Teaching Philosophy (in brief)

I love teaching. I was inspired by my mother, who taught chemistry to high school students. I learnt from her that teaching can be an exceptionally fulfilling and rewarding profession. I am a firm believer in the liberal arts philosophy of education. I believe that a liberal arts education should form the basis for a lifetime of intellectual growth, and only secondarily does it provide career training. To accomplish this, we as educators have to encourage our students to be curious about their world by providing them with an atmosphere that supports inquiry. At the same time, we must provide them with the analytical skills necessary to satisfy that curiosity. Whether a student comes to college with or without clear career goals in mind, I feel that the best way to meet their individual needs is to foster a sense of learning for learning’s sake.

Dennis’ Teaching Philosophy (MS-Word download)

Dennis’ Teaching Responsibilities

1. Neurobiology (BIOL-475/675)
2. Neurotechniques Laboratory (NS-479)

Student Testimonials

“I just wanted to say thank you for being an awesome professor! I really enjoyed going to class and listening to you lecture. You made a difficult topic fun and easier to understand. I am extremely grateful that I was able to be in your class my final semester at UNR. I hope you continue teaching because it’s (unfortunately) rare to find professors who actually care about their students and put in the time and effort to make sure they understand the material. It is nice to know that you genuinely care about your students and want the best for them.”

“You have been such a positive influence in my way of thinking towards education and shown me what it is to have a passion for learning and teaching. Thank you so much for a fantastic semester! I am so glad that I took your class and had the pleasure of meeting you. I look forward to staying in touch with you and coming in to chat with you from time to time.”

“I was sitting there, listening to you lecture about the brain some Wednesday morning in February when it hit me. “I want to study Neuroscience,” I said to myself. “It’s my major after all, and I find it absolutely fascinating”. I was on the Pre-med path for so long, but I can’t tell you why. I guess I was just doing it because everyone else was. But that morning, after my epiphany; I finally gained the courage to step off the Pre-med route and join something that I was actually very excited to be a part off: Neuroscience.”

Dr. Mathew is very approachable and willing to help when students are struggling. Great instructor and knows the contents thoroughly. Enjoyed having him around lab very much.”

“Dr. Mathew is a great professor and really cares about his students. You can tell because he goes out of his way to try and go over everything with each student to make sure the no one is left behind.”

“Dr. Mathew is an excellent instructor, both caring and passionate. It is clear that he puts a great deal of thought into running the neuroscience journal club, and makes every effort to ensure the sessions are interesting and informative. Thank you so much for everything you do, Dennis. You are a wonderful teacher and an inspiration to all of your graduate students”.