Teaching Statement

Critical Listening, Collaborative Learning 

In teaching English courses centered around the skills of critical reading and argumentative writing, I especially emphasize the importance of cultivating critical listening practices in the classroom. I feel it is my obligation as an instructor of literature to foster an environment where students learn the crucial importance and empowerment of civilly engaging with the ideas of others. In my experience, students have contributed to discussion the most confidently, expressively, and profoundly when they feel heard and safe to agree or disagree with the instructor and each other. Organized and varying forms of group discussion thus comprise the majority of the time I schedule into each of my classes. For instance, in my apocalyptic literature course for non-English majors, I offered various models of discussion: in one instance, students would break into groups of three or four to interpret a common passage and then present it to the class. In other instances, students would pair off and designate a devil’s advocate whose role was to listen to their partner’s interpretation and try their hardest to refute it with textual evidence. In practicing these modes of argument, counter-argument, and presentation of evidence with each other, students organically established rapport and synergy, which ultimately improved the quality of larger class-wide discussion times as well. 

As a teacher, I also deeply value opportunities to practice critical listening skills in the form of student feedback. In the same apocalyptic literature course, I distributed an anonymous mid-semester evaluation survey, in which a student commented, “group work would be [more] interesting if we switched groups more often.” I incorporated this feedback and encouraged students to move around and talk to new peers every class session, while more rigorously planning new activities. As a tangible result, the end of semester evaluations yielded a comment from a student mentioning “I liked the way there was not a single class that was identical. Every class had a different structure which made it fun to come to class!”. 

Learning as an Iterative Process 

I often preface the first writing assignments in my classes with a simple exploration into the etymology of the word essay. After consulting a quick web search, students discover its origins in the Old French word, essaier or to try or attempt. I consider it my most fundamental duty in writing instruction to emphasize critical writing as an iterative, process-oriented skill that begins in the classroom and flourishes outside of it. As a result, I extensively employ the workshop format at various points in the semester: from close-reading workshops in the first two weeks, to evidence incorporation at the midpoint, and secondary research workshops towards the end. In these workshops, students come to class with questions regarding the topic of the workshop which are debriefed. Afterward, I have found it most effective for students to practice writing techniques in class. To facilitate that practice, I create worksheets that prompt students to perform and then identify the skill that we are working on for that day. Whenever worksheets are utilized, however, students are always given time at the end of the workshop to discuss their writing or feedback with their peers. I offer a curated selection of worksheets here.

Another crucial aspect of writing that I emphasize is peer revision. I employ peer revision workshops for each major writing assignment, giving students a chance to see how their peers take the thinking done during classroom discussion into the realm of argumentative writing. Peer revision workshops also utilize worksheets to streamline the process for students to provide feedback for each other. It has been my experience that revision and workshopping help to demystify the process of writing for students of all academic disciplines, but especially those whose experience with assessment is dominated by the exam format. It is the goal of every course I teach to encourage students to see persuasive writing as a muscle: a skill that improves in quality and efficacy with more and more use. 

Instructor as Interlocutor 

One of the core philosophies I hold as an instructor is for students to view me as an interlocutor of their work rather than a prescriber of value or validity. This philosophy is reflected in my role as a moderator of class discussions as well as a provider of feedback on writing assignments. As a moderator, I prioritize offering themes and identifying literary techniques rather than assigning exact interpretations of texts. This prioritization of impartiality has been reflected in student evaluation, as a former student remarked, “it didn't feel like the instructor was pressing any of his potential biases on us,” while another reflected, “We were always encouraged to speak against the texts if we felt that way, or in support of it if that's how we felt about it.” I have found that students feel most empowered when they can make their own conclusions on the content of the course, which has compelled me to adopt a completely open approach to discussion.

My role as an interlocutor in the classroom also extends to individual feedback given on writing assignments. In addition to making myself available for office hours weekly, I also consistently embed final paper conferences into the last two weeks of a course, in which I meet with students individually to discuss their previous writing and their direction for the final assignment. I firmly believe that taking time to engage with students independently on their writing not only clarifies the expectations of assessment but also provides students with an outlet to rehearse their full argument. Paper conferences also offer students a place to seek transparency with grading, and I have consistently found that students are most motivated when they see their instructor as an interlocutor who has respect for their work and clear expectations for what they produce.