Faculty Spotlight | Dr. Molly Miller

Place-Based Learning: Monitoring Local Water Quality

Dr. Molly Miller, Assistant Professor in the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Science and a science enthusiast, finds her ambition and passion in uncovering the “why” behind how things work and sharing that wonder with others. From her earliest schooling to graduate studies, she has benefited from truly passionate educators, motivating her to spark similar curiosity and excitement in her own students. “I strive to have the ‘lightbulb’ moments in my classes regularly!” Dr. Miller explains.

A Local Living Laboratory

One of Dr. Miller’s most impactful teaching strategies is the use of place-based learning, seen in her ENV 334 (Environmental Monitoring and Assessment) class semester-long project. Using South’s campus as a classroom, she leads students to monitor the environment by evaluating the ponds on campus for water quality, habitat evaluation, and recreational use, among other things. Central to the success of this project is not only encouraging students to step outside the lab and investigate an important portion of the Three Mile Creek watershed, but also guiding them to ask their own research questions and identify the methods needed to answer these questions. She believes that this student-driven focus sparks curiosity, builds technical skills, and connects science to everyday life. Dr. Miller shared, “students really seem more invested in their work in this class and have gone above and beyond to collect the data they decide (with guidance) is important.” 

By guiding students through hands-on and placed-based projects, she shows them what it truly takes to “do science.” Specifically, students appreciate the opportunity to have a say in the direction of their learning as well as contributing to understanding and protecting the natural resources on our campus, “making sure it is a good place for future USA students to call home,” she added.

Over the two semesters she has taught this class, Dr. Miller has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from her students and found it a fun way to take a lab class while having a voice in the planning process. Through her place-based learning, Dr. Miller turns the campus into a dynamic site of discovery, inspiring students to engage positively with scientific literature and apply their insights to real-world environmental issues.

A few fun facts:

Dr. Miller is known as the Dolphin Trainer to her friends outside of academia, a nickname that jokingly refers to the stereotype of marine scientists.  

Outside of teaching and research, she is a fitness junkie. While working on her Ph.D., she discovered the “mental therapy” of long distance running. During that time, she was focused on running, including an 11-mile run on the morning of her dissertation defense. Today, she still runs but now focuses more on weightlifting, functional fitness, and even competes in CrossFit competitions!

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