Teaching

Courses Taught & Selected Syllabuses

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy extends from a desire to make a difference in students’ lives and is embedded in a philosophical belief that a liberal arts education should prepare students to be freethinking global citizens capable of making an informed analysis of society. This means I strive to give students the means to critically analyze their world and to be successful participants in the public sphere; and I encourage them to live their lives being aware and knowledgeable about their habitat and surroundings. 

For this reason, it is essential the classroom function as an interactive learner-centered environment where students get to voice their ideas on relevant issues related to my courses.  My goal is to inspire students and aspire for myself to create a safe zone where students feel comfortable interacting while honing their own oral, written, and critical analysis skills in order to fulfill the liberal arts education’s promise of creating informed global citizens and effective communicators. I seek to encourage an environment in the classroom where underrepresented and first generation students feel free to talk and to espouse their views, because each one of them brings unique stories, strengths and talents to the classroom. While it is important for the instructor to use lectures to teach theoretical concepts, detail empirical studies, clarify abstract ideas, and situate what students are learning into a broader social, cultural, and historical framework, it is also essential to integrate class discussions and a variety of other activities that allow students to apply course materials to their own observations, experiences, and actively engage each other in lively debates. In doing so, students must be afforded the agency to interpret the pros and cons of class materials. They should not feel that the instructors are there to censor their views but instead function as facilitators of the ideas exchange. One of the caveats for the instructor in this instance is the necessity to keep personal views, which are not conducive to learning, out of the classroom. I have witnessed a few examples of professors who have been able to describe different points of view to students without being blatantly supportive of one position and I intend to aspire my teaching philosophy around those successful models.  

In my classroom, I also use and stress active rather than passive learning strategies to motivate my students in discovering more about life and, ultimately their identities and their true aspirations. I employ cooperative and high-impact learning techniques, such as small group discussions and activities, to help students learn the materials and develop critical analysis skills. These types of projects foster a more personal peer support network where each student can encourage persistence among each other and they provide low income and traditionally underrepresented students, such as first generation undergraduates, a more protected environment to receive support from faculty and their peers when they share their experiences. My purpose, in this instance, is to stress class participation by emphasizing important factors such as, student’s intuition, motivation, and effort and integrating them with care, empathy and experience. These skills will help students navigate any challenges and will provide them with experience and knowledge critical to their success. I further help students achieve their own maximum potential in my class by using a combination of evaluations measures to assess my students’ performance, including written papers, in-class activities and response journals, class presentations, debates, and exams. By combining these multiple evaluation tools, students experience the possibility of achieving a higher grade at the completion of the course because they might excel in one or more of the different and alternative forms of assessment. 

In addition to my role in the classroom, I have a vested interest in student advisement and mentorship, which I believe are central components of my teaching responsibilities. I feel it is important to be flexible, accommodating, and accessible to my students by making an open door policy available to them. In addition, I enthusiastically develop research projects with students and have served as Internship Coordinator at two universities, which has allowed me to facilitate working relationships between my departments’ students and professional agencies in the community.

Summarily, I consider teaching to be a central part of my professional responsibilities and very much enjoy being in a classroom with my students.  I hope in the future to continue to mentor students according to the liberal arts vision and help to create the next generation of talented young scholars who are prepared to succeed in their future educational endeavors and chosen professional fields.