I have had the opportunity to teach a variety of courses within the departments of “Terre-Environnement-Espace” (Earth-Environment-Space) and of “Service Commun en Langues” (Mutual Language Service) of the Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis as a tutor (university contract worker), as a doctoral teaching assistant (DCCE) and a temporary teaching and research fellow (ATER). I consider this experience to have been incredibly beneficial and formative. Interaction with students and the effort needed to transmit a clear message perfectly illustrate how teaching complements research through the valorization of well-founded communication skills.

I strongly believe that the best way to interest students into studying geosciences is to wow them by showing impressive objects (mega-folds, landslides, pegmatites,…) or confront them with stirring remarks (rocks that were dragged down to 90 km deep now outcrop within mountain ranges, 99% of all the species that ever existed are now extinct, the Sumatra 2004 earthquake recorded at 9.2 on the Richter scale released as much energy as 64 Hiroshima atomic bombs combined,…). This approach sparks interest and interrogations in their minds. It also has the merit of revealing the naturalist character of geosciences, the description and explanation of the Earth based on observations. Linking the theory taught in the classroom and its application with field-based or lab exercise to illustrate principles or lessons also allows the students to understand the use of the teachings and prepares them for future “real-world” challenges.

When I started teaching, I recognized that being a teacher does not mean that you suddenly become all knowing and stop learning. On the contrary, I realized that sometimes the simplest questions are the most difficult to answer and required to take the time to improve and extend my knowledge and/or really think about how to formulate correctly my explanations. This approach made it clear to me that using a variety of teaching tactics and assessment techniques is important because different students learn best in different ways (hearing, reading, seeing and/or doing). Also, some topics are simply not taught only through one method or in one teaching environment (whether in-room lectures, practical and tutorial courses or field courses).

Throughout the undergraduate-level teachings in which I was actively involved during my mastership and doctoral studies (approximately 300h) a particular focus was brought to incorporating theoretical, tutorial and practical training both in class and on the field. I found that teaching courses such as Scientific English to French students, Introduction to Geosciences, Geomaterials and Petrology, Geological Mapping, Structural Geology and Tectonics as well as participating in the coordination of various field courses to be an advantage allowing me to constantly better my knowledge and skills, both theoretical, practical and instructive. Objects and concepts previously seen during early year field courses prove to be invaluable to illustrate in-room labs and activities. The opposite is also true, during end of the year field courses we, the instructors, evoke and promote vocabulary, techniques and methods seen earlier during in-room teachings focused on how to observe, describe and analyze outcrops.

These end of the year field courses generally give way to projects (reports, oral presentations,…) in which students are expected to formulate a problem, decide on how to present gathered data, process and analyze this data and finally draw conclusions bringing insight to the problem. The goal behind these projects is to act as stepping stones for students year after year, instructing and encouraging them not only to better develop their communication skills but also to further their interests through individual or group work.

At Université Nice-Sophia Antipolis third year Licence (last year) as well as both Master years (Master 1 and Master 2) feature mandatory internships. I have had the opportunity to supervise a Master 2 student throughout their internship. I have also participated in the supervision of Licence internships in cooperation with other colleagues. Developing critical thinking while conducting bibliographical reviews or throughout data acquisition and analyses is an aspect heavily stressed and developed. The benefits of these research projects are that students have a chance to perform “real science” providing them not only with a better understanding of what it means to be a geoscientist but also the ensuring that they know how to apply a sound and thought-out methodology. They also provide students a sense that they have contributed to broaden the understanding of how the planet works. In a way they add their grain of sand to the existing dune, maybe the one that will give way to an avalanche of improvements in our comprehension of the Earth.