Teaching Experience
Co-Instructor, US Political Systems, Summer 2026
Teaching Assistant, US Political Systems, Dr. Jonathan Ladd, Government Dept. Spring 2025
Teaching Assistant, US Political Systems, Dr. John Griffin, Government Dept. Fall 2024
Teaching Assistant, US Political Systems, Dr. Michele Swers, Government Dept. Spring 2024
Apprenticeship in Teaching Pedagogy Workshop Program Spring 2023 – Spring 2024
Teaching Assistant, US Political Systems, Dr. John Griffin, Government Dept. Fall 2023
Teaching Assistant, US Political Systems, Dr. Hans Noel, Government Dept. Fall 2021
Teaching Assistant, Urban Agriculture, Dr. Dawn King, Brown University Environmental Science Dept. Spring 2018 (undergraduate)
Teaching Testimonials
As Instructor (Summer 2026):
"I really enjoy Quinn's lectures. Her blackboard writing is concise, clear, and logically structured, which greatly helps me understand academic concepts. Secondly, I really like the guest speakers segment in Quinn's classes, which gives me a more concerete understanding of the abstract concepts discussed. It also shows me potential career paths after studying government. Finally, Quinn is very attentive in evaluating our assignments and exams! I am always greatly encouraged by Quinn's comments and encouragement!"
"The instructor did a great job of making the class engaging by using a variety of teaching methods. Instead of only lecturing, we also went on field trips and had guest speakers, which helped connect what we learned in class to real-world politics. These experiences made the material more interesting, easier to understand, and kept me engaged throughout the course."
"I think Quinn did a really good job on making complex topics seem comprehensible and engaging. She always did a good job on making sure that we were fully understanding the topic and thoughtfully encouraged us to share opinions, questions, and ideas. She always came with an open mind and positive attitude that served the class very well."
"She also took the time to find, for example, different types of visual media for us to analyze for the Political Parties and Media & Politics lesson days, which was a nice deviation from the traditional lecture."
"QUINN WAS AWESOME, SO KNOWLEDGABLE, AND VERY NICE!!! GIVE QUINN BORNSTEIN HER PHD ALREADY!!!"
As Teaching Assistant (Fall 2021 - Spring 2025):
“She was my most engaging and knowledgeable TA I’ve ever had. She went out of her way to bring in multiple speakers that pertained to what we were learning. The discussion activities were not just supplemental to the class, but genuinely engaging. She furthered my interest in the US Political System besides just teaching the material.”
“Communication was very clear, she responded to emails quickly, and she always answered questions. Expectations for discussion sections were easy to understand. The guest speakers in the section were very cool. Class was interesting. The attendance policy was also incredibly fair – being able to make up participation with a short essay reduced stress immensely and was very helpful. Her suggestions for the midterm, final paper, and final helped me with writing and preparing for exams!”
“She was well-versed in the readings and also made an effort to learn everyone’s names really quickly after the first session. She was also very accessible for office hours and answered all of my questions.”
“She was able to keep discussion highly engaging, and I loved when she would go off on tangents and start writing things on the board. I can tell how invested she is on certain topics, and her passion was extremely fun to be in a classroom with.”
“I really appreciated that she made an effort to learn everyone’s names really quickly, and definitely tried to include everyone in conversations. She also didn’t make students feel afraid or judged to share different political opinions in class.”
“Our TA highlighted a variety [of] perspectives when possible, bringing her specific expertise concerning poor, rural voters to our discussions. She also encouraged students to discuss their specific experiences, even though who come from outside of the US.”
“Quinn was incredible – she responded to emails INCREDIBLY fast. I was so thankful. She really saved me a couple of times.”
Mentorship
Georgetown Senior Undergraduate American Government Honors Thesis Advisor. 2024-25 Academic Year
Graduate Student Ambassador, Georgetown Political Science Predoctoral Summer Institute. June 2023 - May 2025
Served for two summers as a teaching assistant and mentor for a summer program for DC-area undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds in academia interested in becoming political scientists. Mentorship continued for at least one year following the institute through regular check-ins.