Teaching

Teaching is my passion. It is a passion that is sustained by my continued love of learning. My love of teaching also makes me incredibly student-focused. I draw most of my satisfaction in teaching from the mentorship I provide young people, as their eyes are opened to the world around them and as they develop confidence in their ability to think critically about, and put into perspective, new material.

I've taught a wide variety of American politics courses at selective liberal arts colleges, a large public research university, and a military service academy.  The courses I have taught include, not only most major offerings in American politics (see my course syllabi page), but also introduction to political science, constitutional law, and multiple semesters of undergraduate research methods. Methods is one of my favorite courses to teach. 

One innovative project I helped develop during the pandemic was a Political Science Unplugged series, in which faculty have conversations with each other about course readings in USAFA's introduction to American politics course. These videos were designed to help students make sense of the readings and apply their concepts to real-world events. An episode of this series is available here.

In the spring of 2016, I received a competitive, university-wide award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching at the University of Colorado Boulder. Evidence of my teaching effectiveness can be found here.