Teaching
2018-2019 Academic Calendar
PO 2070 Qualitative Methods
2017-2018 Academic Calendar
Courses from Prior Semesters
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Black Politics
Feminist Theory
Politics of Gender & Sexuality
Introduction to Women's Studies
Public Opinion and Voting Behavior
Research Methods
Quantitative Analysis
Politics & History of Alternative Tourism
Introduction to Political Science
Public Policy
Philosophy on Teaching
As a political scientist and academic more generally, my teaching is guided by a responsibility to promote civic engagement buttressed by comprehensive informational literacy among my students. These goals apply to both political science majors and students across campus as these students will have a multitude of opportunities to engage in political process and will make implicit or explicit decisions regarding issues of relevance to their lives and public policy. Further, with the vast quantities of information disseminated via both traditional and non-traditional media, students will need the capacity to adjudicate between sources and evaluate the quality and usefulness of new information in order to move toward understanding and knowledge. For political science students an additional objective is a clear connection to scholarship in the discipline achieved through consumption of scholarly materials and completion of individual research projects. I approach teaching with the overarching learning objectives of civic engagement and information literacy as the ultimate goals structuring the specific learning objectives in my courses.
The emphasis on civic engagement in necessary as students will need to understand not only how to engage with their immediate social and political environment, but also with the broader globalized polis. By approaching course development with the underlying focus on developing the political and social efficacy that leads to engagement and participation, I am fostering student independency, knowledge, and confidence to lead. When this is combined with an emphasis on the capacity read, interpret, and understand information in a wide variety of form ranging from quantitative literacy in statistics and visual representations of statistics to critical evaluation of sources in the news media and academic texts. Combining these skills prepares students to lead but further establishes the self-confidence to make informed decisions and critically analyze information for not only their self-interest but for the broader societal impacts. This approach rests on interactive learning and student self-reliance that increases retention of concepts and retention of students at the institution based on a high level of engagement and the building of strong ties to their peers and the learning environment.
My pedagogical decisions are informed by research and focus on the broad goals of informational literacy and civic engagement for all students with an additional emphasis on connection to the discipline for potential future political scientists. Specifics with regard to feedback and structure of the classroom are informed by my scholarship on pedagogy found on my curriculum vitae and mentioned in my research statement.
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