I truly enjoy teaching and have a deep sense of obligation to ensure that students receive the best possible education that I can deliver. I was recently awarded the 2019-2020 Langton Award for outstanding independent instruction of undergraduate economics.
As an independent instructor, I have taught:
Econ 201 (Introductory Macroeconomics) 3x
Econ 301 (Intermediate Macroeconomics) 1x.
I have also TA'd:
Econ 201 3x
Pols 204 (Comparative Politics) 1x
My average adjusted teaching evaluation score is typically around the 9th decile for all UW instructors.
Below are some responses from student evaluations from courses I have taught (which are submitted anonymously, all responses are taken verbatim):
"Ryan, my class instructor, did a wonderful job at making the class inclusive and that is something I really appreciated. As an international student from India, it was sometimes difficult for me to apply some of the same concepts I learnt back home on American economy. But Ryan tried his best to discuss with me aspects about Indian economy when I came to him with a question in regards to it. He also grew parallels between China and America when discussing some concepts which affect the two countries differently, which was very well appreciated by many of my fellow classmates who are Chinese international students."
"It doesn't get much better than Ryan Cummings. By far one of the best lecturers I have ever had. I thoroughly enjoyed going to class and saw value in it. Ryan is obviously very passionate and cares about his students more than any prof I have met before. Although I did not attend class regularly he knows my name and goes out of his way to answer my questions and is sincere and thorough when he makes sure that I understand the material. He knows the names of the students that come to class and makes sure people understand what he is teaching. Compared to the other instructors I have had at this school and even in this department he goes WAY above and beyond in his teaching."
"Ryan Cummings himself made the class more engaging than any other teacher I've had before. He did this all the while answering the questions of the class and explain in depth the topics discussed."
"The professor knew a broad range of topics even beyond economics and knew how to answer students' questions comprehensively. Rather than disregarding information from the first half of the quarter, like other classes, he emphasized connections between topics."
"This class really push me to think harder. Ryan never only sticks to the book, he always use simple examples to explain the theory and apply it to real life economy. Also, Ryan's passion about econ really influenced his student to learn more beyond class!"
"I thought the course was very interesting and useful to my own life at the same time. The objective of the instructor was very well executed. Exam problems were fair. Overall, the course did challenge my thinking in terms of how one concept leads to the next. I'm content that the instructor brought in very challenging weekly readings, and I think that reading those readings allow me to understand macroeconomics even better."