Recent Podcast
"Today we speak with Yarin Reindorp, a junior in Columbia’s School of General Studies, and her former teacher in organic chemistry, Dr. Karen Phillips, who was a Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Chemistry at Columbia. Dr. Phillips shares teaching techniques and philosophies that she employs in her courses—techniques that tackle dead ideas about collaboration, student empowerment, and equity..."
About Me
I am very proud to be able to refer to myself as an award-winning Organic Chemistry instructor and I am even more proud of the many wonderful students I have taught that subject to over the years. I pioneered the use of Performance Enhanced Interactive Learning (PEIL), a collaborative learning model, while teaching at Hunter College and took that methodology back with me to Columbia University during the time that I was a Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Chemistry. The PEIL model, which grew out of my experience tutoring small groups of students, draws upon the small group discussion of Workshop questions and students' presentation of the solutions to these questions to encourage collaboration, minimize the fear typically associated with a very challenging subject, and build student agency by empowering them to help teach themselves. It is often said that you learn best by teaching a subject and, in the PEIL model, students have the opportunity to either perform the role of the teacher or watch their peers perform that role for a significant part of their time in class each week.
My classes have always been a blend of science majors and pre-medical students and, since 2010, I have been able to combine my love for teaching with the many rewards that come from advising students on their preparation for and application to medical, dental and veterinary schools. Like my own teaching, this part of my professional practice is rooted in authenticity. That is what I believe it takes to be a successful applicant to a professional school, and that is what I try to guide students to bring out in their own writing as I help them to refine their application essays and personal statements or as I prepare them for interviews.
I came to the United States from Jamaica with the intention of studying Veterinary Medicine. However, an early opportunity to be at the front of a Chemistry classroom made me fall in love with teaching. I can recognize the power of those early teaching experiences in building my own confidence as a learner, and there is no doubt that this influenced my development of the PEIL model. As an undergraduate, I was also very focused on fine art, particularly drawing, painting and ceramic sculpture. I was becoming quite well known as a Disc Jockey (DJ) back in Jamaica and continued to supplement my income as a DJ while in graduate school at Columbia University and throughout my time as an instructor. I also love cooking and gardening, and I always get a kick out of growing some of my own food, even in a New York City apartment.
