Teaching
Teaching
Israeli politics
Elections, representation, and democracy
Research methods
Political communication
Public opinion, media, and politics
At UCLA, the no. 1 ranked public university in the U.S., I have taught students from diverse personal and academic backgrounds. I believe that teaching is first and foremost about empowering students with knowledge and opening new horizons of understanding. I encourage students to strive for excellence, take ownership of their learning, and develop critical thinking. My students appreciate the open atmosphere, the engagement, dedication, and mentorship that are integral to my classes.
My classes build on three components: foundations, integration, and active learning. To set the foundations, I provide students with the knowledge they need for our subject matter (concepts, key studies, historical facts). Next, I integrate this knowledge with what they learned in previous classes, gradually adding more facets and layers. Finally, I encourage students to analyze political affairs using what they have learned in class.
For example, my Populism, Polarization and the Crisis of Representation: Israeli Politics as a Case Study of Global Trends course (Spring 2021), was structured such that each theme included lectures on theoretical concpets and case studies, an online forum with an open-ended, thought-provoking question for students to engage in discussion, and an integrative group project.
"Professor Lavi was an excellent professor and I thoroughly enjoyed her course. I think that her
teaching style was very impactful and thorough, and I enjoyed the way in which she encouraged
students to discuss with her."
"Professor Lavi is among the best instructors I've been privileged to learn from during my time at UCLA.
Whip-smart, engaged, and engaging, Lavi cares about her students and takes great pains to ensure
everyone understands course material and is able to extrapolate it into other realms. This is one of
those classes that helps you do well in other classes, that enhances your ability to understand political
dynamics of different types. She's well versed in the material, and is able to articulate it eloquently and in a manner that gives folks an opportunity to apply the content outside of class. If you ask me, that's the best gift any teacher
could give to her students."
"She's an excellent teacher and professor who took extra time and care to ensure we learned every
course objective. The course was ordered yet flexible making it a great class with a great professor."
"I love professor lavi I hadn't read any reviews before taking this course but she is amazing. Tenure her
asap before she goes to another school."