Teaching Philosophy

If teachers trust students to engage in difficult, rigorous, and rewarding work, together we invent possibilities. This deceptively simple principle guides my teaching across all courses. I follow pedagogues like bell hooks, Cynthia L. Selfe, Asao B. Inoue, and Christina V. Cedillo in trusting students to expand the complex communicative practices they bring with them while also engaging new literacies attentive to cultural and critical demands beyond the classroom. I trust students so they can trust themselves, and together we build a coalitional praxis that emerges from the negotiation of the learning needs of individual students as well as the class as a collective. Collaboration, therefore, is central to my classroom, and student learning depends on my ability to help students feel responsible for their own and each other’s educational experiences. 

As a teacher-scholar who specializes in digital and multimodal composing, I embrace an action-oriented approach to learning, which often includes hands-on technology demonstrations, in class studio workshops, and “mini projects” that encourage students to “just try it out.” By decentering grades and rigidly defined course goals, students and I create playful pedagogical spaces where we can honestly reflect on what is working in class and what is not. This flexibility engenders an ethic of trust that values learning over schooling and extends to our classroom assessment ecologies. Building on antiracist and social justice principles of assessment, students are encouraged to actively delink their knowledges from neoliberal accountability logics of success and failure and invest in relational knowledge building practices. 

FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS

English 680: Composition Studies (TAMUC; graduate seminar)

• Dr. Johnson's course was very well designed and organized. The readings through hypothes.is were great; the application made it very easy for me to make notes. Dr. Johnson mentioned that he was trying that out this semester, and I think it was a huge success. Overall, a great course!

• The course covered a lot of ground in a systematic and coherent fashion. The assignments were challenging and have given us opportunities to practice synthesis writing of scholarship in the field. We were given the tools to form our own philosophy of teaching.

English 776: Methods and Methodologies in Writing Studies (TAMUC; graduate seminar)

• Dr. Johnson has set up a truly enlightening and instructive asynchronous course. I have learned far more in this course than any other, and I am grateful that my experiences with this class will aid me in future professional and academic endeavors.

• This was a great course that really prepared me for the methodological studies associated with dissertations. My only complaint was the reading load; it was extreme! Professor was great and helped his students through some difficult material.

English 333: Honors Advanced Writing -- The Politics of Writing & Linguistic Justice (TAMUC)

• Dr. Johnson always welcomes discussion and constantly asks provocative questions. He has daily readings towards the beginning of the semester. You do not have to annotate you just must read and understand the material so you can contribute to the class. Sometimes we will split into small groups and discuss the readings or the topic. The class does keep a shared note document so if you miss a class (don’t), you can refer to the notes. He really cares about the students and tries his best to aid in your success. Definitely very sweet and genuine professor.

• Dr. Johnson is a wonderful professor, he is great at everything he did. If this was high school, his room would be the one I would sit in for lunch (obviously with his consent) but his vibes are just immaculate.

English 111: English Composition I (CBU)

• • • Dr. Gavin is a great teacher. He challenges me to think every time I write one of his papers or participate in his class. Moreover, he is an advocate of understanding and thoughtfulness as he cares for his students and their success inside and outside of class. For example, after hearing the depth of my input on a certain topic, he recommended a couple of career paths in writing that I could potentially pursue. After much consideration, I chose not to pursue those majors, but it was still refreshing to have a teacher that cared about my life past college.

    • Dr. Johnson is a great, understanding teacher. He provides great feedback to students and wants every student to succeed in writing.

    • Dr. Johnson was a fantastic teacher. He really challenged my writing. 

English 112: English Composition II (CBU)

• I learned a lot, especially the last half of the semester. We are writing a 10 page essay at the moment, and I am intellectually stimulated by my topic. Through many questions and convos with Dr. G, he’s been able to sharpen my writing skills, therefore allowing me to produce a good essay.

• Dr. Johnson is a great professor. I had the chance to have him for English 1 and 2, and I feel like a much better writer AND person now.

English 301: Topics in Cultural Rhetorics -- Storying Post-Truth (CBU)

• • • I really enjoyed this class! it made me think in a different way that is applicable to many different facets of my professional life. he also encouraged individuality and creative solutions to problems.

    • Dr. Johnson is a great addition to the English department at CBU. While asking full effort from us, he is aware his student's situations outside of class and is willing to work with them through it. Thank you for a great semester!

    • I truly appreciate Dr. Johnson. I understand his teaching styles well and I feel like I could ask Dr. Johnson anything about a topic we are discussing and he would help me to understand the topic. I appreciate how much he checks in on his students and how much he appreciates our feedback. I also enjoying his grading styles. As someone who get frequently anxious when it comes to grades, I feel as though I do not have to worry with Dr. Johnson because he grades fairly and offers insight instead of criticism. I truly respect him and his efforts this semester. I can't wait to take him again in the future.

English 303: Topics in Media and Rhetoric -- Mobile Technologies as Rhetorical Technologies (CBU)

• Dr. Johnson has given some of the most feedback on assignments compared to other courses I have had. Dr. Johnson also does a great job accommodating students. He allowed us to turn our cameras off if we did not feel comfortable. This probably helped students feel more comfortable

• I really enjoyed this class! It challenged my understanding of technology. It also challenged me to think about what goes through the user's mind when navigating through an app or software. I learned so much from this class, and I would definitely take a class from Dr. Johnson again.

English 304: Topics Communication and Rhetoric -- Remembering Memphis / Rhetoric and Public Memory (CBU)

• • • I've struggled so much with my mental health this year and Dr. Johnson is one of the only professors that didn't make me feel guilty about it. He was understanding and encouraging. The material was thought-evoking and relevant. Learning about the digital archive through the Memphis Library was insightful and the knowledge of its use will benefit me in other research/writing/communication courses. 10/10 Professor

    • I have learned a lot about Memphis in Dr. Johnson’s class. I appreciate his feedback on assignments. I wish more professors gave the same amount of comments on assignments. The readings were sometimes long but challenged me to think critically and develop my vocabulary. Overall, I cannot think of much to change. I am glad that Dr. Johnson gave us the option to work individually or in groups for our last project.

English 371: Professional Communications (CBU)

• • • Dr. Johnson is a great professor who provides students the environment to produce quality work!

    • This class was definitely the most well oiled online class I had. I could definitely tell that you took a lot of time to tailor the class to an online setting.