Teaching Interests & Experience
Given my research expertise and teaching experience, I am prepared to teach Introduction to American Politics and a range of more specialized substantive classes, including U.S. Political Institutions, Public Opinion and Political Behavior, American Political Economy, Politics and Public Policy, Social Movements, Interest Groups, the Politics of Inequality, Climate Politics, the Politics of Race and Ethnicity, Tax Politics, Housing Politics, Labor Politics, and more. I could also teach Quantitative Methods, Survey Methodology, and R coding courses.
Here is evidence of my teaching effectiveness during the courses for which I have served as Teaching Fellow:
All four courses served undergraduates, and “Advanced Quantitative Methods” served both M.A. and B.A. students. Below are my reviews from students. (The 5-point rating scale ranges from “poor” [1], “fair,” “good,” “very good,” to “excellent” [5].)
Overall average Teaching Fellow rating: 4.9/5 (out of 64 total reviews across 4 courses)
Advanced Quantitative Methods. Fall 2022 (with Prof. Shiro Kuriwaki).
Average rating: 4.8/5 (out of 24 reviews) | Department’s semester average: 4.3/5
Selected qualitative reviews: “Sam was incredible! He was a great source of knowledge and was very real in his interactions with the students. This class was much MUCH better for having Sam as a TF”; “Sam singlehandedly saved me in this class. He went completely above and beyond to help students in office hours and section in a manner that was friendly and approachable…He never made students feel silly or unintelligent for not understanding material, and broke down complicated topics into simple parts.”
Money in American Politics. Fall 2021 (with Prof. Jacob Hacker).
Average rating: 5/5 (out of 10 reviews) | Department’s semester average: 4.5/5
Selected qualitative reviews: “Sam was the best strength of the course. Meeting with him was always a joy and I left his office hours actually excited about the work. I honestly wish I had gone every week just to chat with Sam!”; “Sam is brilliant, cares about his students, and makes himself super available to help. Hands down the best TF I've ever had, and will ever have, at Yale.”
The Politics of Public Policy (via zoom). Spring 2021 (with Prof. Jacob Hacker).
Average rating: 4.8/5 (out of 13 reviews) | Department’s semester average: 4.6/5
Selected qualitative reviews: “Sam is so knowledgeable about politics and policy, particularly climate policy. The summaries with key points at the start of section were particularly helpful and he was great at facilitating discussions, without putting anyone on the spot”; “Sam was definitely the nicest teaching fellow I’ve ever had and he made section a very open environment where it was easy for everyone to speak and contribute their ideas.”
U.S. Congress (via zoom). Fall 2020 (with Prof. Amir Fairdosi).
Average rating: 4.9/5 (out of 17 reviews) | Department’s semester average: 4.4/5
Selected qualitative reviews: “Sam is an incredible TF and you always end up wishing section had more time when it ends. The biggest strength of Sam's teaching is his eagerness to provide students with quantitative insight from political research studies that back up or counter comments made in section”; “Sam did a great job facilitating the discussion sections and offered interesting insights. Sam was very helpful during office hours as well and was always willing to provide guidance. No weaknesses.”
Here are sample syllabi for a few courses I am prepared to teach: