TEACHING
PEDAGOGY AND GOALS
As a scholar of youth voting behavior and participation in the United States, one of the most troubling observations about young people today is a growing cynicism and a perceived lack of efficacy when it comes to governmental affairs. Many college students think of government as a problem rather than the solution to problems, and do not recognize the usefulness of government in their everyday lives. Each semester, my primary goal is to provide students with the skills to become critically-thinking members of our democratic society by combining theoretical political concepts with real-world experiences. To do so, they must be equipped with more than just a superficial understanding of how government works. They also need a realistic understanding of both what to expect and what not to expect from government. I dispel pervasive myths and conventional wisdoms about our government in order to encourage students to become better citizens once they leave my classroom.
I teach with a lot of energy, conveying a sense of enthusiasm for American Politics in the hopes of making students excited to learn as well. Students expect me to be tough but fair, and I award students for persistence through early struggles. Even if they have little interest in politics, I intend for students to be able to walk out of my classroom knowing how to analyze and synthesize political information in a coherent manner.
An active learning exercise I use in my large lecture courses is to have the students discuss the political headlines of the day at the beginning of each class meeting. These current events are used to demonstrate theoretical concepts in action and help students realize the relevance of government in their lives. In these larger courses, I assess students through exams and seminar papers, depending on the size and subject of the course.
A second goal I have is for students to develop an understanding and appreciation for alternative perspectives on issues and policies. In smaller courses, students will work in groups and engage in a mock debate, where they will be responsible for arguing both the Republican and Democratic perspectives for a current policy issue. This task is designed to encourage students to develop a more cohesive political ideology. These debates, along with short response papers requiring incorporation of ideas from multiple perspectives, allow students the opportunity to practice their articulation skills as well as develop a tolerance to opposing viewpoints.
In addition, I also encourage students to act upon their political beliefs by promoting democratic behavior through various pathways of citizen participation outside the classroom. Students will learn how they can effect change through activities other than voting, and develop positive attitudes towards government that carry through their lives as politics gains more relevance outside the academic environment.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
In-Person
As a scholar of youth voting behavior and participation in the United States, one of the most troubling observations about young people today is a growing cynicism and a perceived lack of efficacy when it comes to governmental affairs. Many college students think of government as a problem rather than the solution to problems, and do not recognize the usefulness of government in their everyday lives. Each semester, my primary goal is to provide students with the skills to become critically-thinking members of our democratic society by combining theoretical political concepts with real-world experiences. To do so, they must be equipped with more than just a superficial understanding of how government works. They also need a realistic understanding of both what to expect and what not to expect from government. I dispel pervasive myths and conventional wisdoms about our government in order to encourage students to become better citizens once they leave my classroom.
I teach with a lot of energy, conveying a sense of enthusiasm for American Politics in the hopes of making students excited to learn as well. Students expect me to be tough but fair, and I award students for persistence through early struggles. Even if they have little interest in politics, I intend for students to be able to walk out of my classroom knowing how to analyze and synthesize political information in a coherent manner.
An active learning exercise I use in my large lecture courses is to have the students discuss the political headlines of the day at the beginning of each class meeting. These current events are used to demonstrate theoretical concepts in action and help students realize the relevance of government in their lives. In these larger courses, I assess students through exams and seminar papers, depending on the size and subject of the course.
A second goal I have is for students to develop an understanding and appreciation for alternative perspectives on issues and policies. In smaller courses, students will work in groups and engage in a mock debate, where they will be responsible for arguing both the Republican and Democratic perspectives for a current policy issue. This task is designed to encourage students to develop a more cohesive political ideology. These debates, along with short response papers requiring incorporation of ideas from multiple perspectives, allow students the opportunity to practice their articulation skills as well as develop a tolerance to opposing viewpoints.
In addition, I also encourage students to act upon their political beliefs by promoting democratic behavior through various pathways of citizen participation outside the classroom. Students will learn how they can effect change through activities other than voting, and develop positive attitudes towards government that carry through their lives as politics gains more relevance outside the academic environment.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
In-Person
- For three semesters I have taught an Introduction to American Government course, serving 70-100 students each.
- I served as the instructor of an Introduction to American Democracy course for a group of Russian students in a summer exchange program (20 international students).
- As a teaching assistant, I have held weekly discussion sections for both an undergraduate Statistics course for Political Science majors, as well as a graduate-level Statistics course for Ph.D. students (30 and 8 students, respectively). Furthermore, I performed extensive course support in office hours teaching statistical concepts to students
- In addition, I have served as a teaching assistant for a diverse set of other undergraduate courses and have been exposed to a variety of teaching styles.
- I am currently the instructor and grader for an online, self-paced Introduction to American Government course through the University of Texas Extension program (rolling enrollment; 130 students presently enrolled).
- I have also been the lead teaching assistant for a massive online Introduction to American Government course, where I managed the technical aspects of the course and served as the primary liaison between the course professors, the team of teaching assistants, and the production staff (1,100 students).