Teaching

Sharing my knowledge and experiences through teaching is one of the most enjoyable parts of working at a university. When designing courses, I seek to craft assignments that build research and critical thinking skills for all students in a collaborative environment. As a collegiate instructor during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have implemented an iterative student feedback process during the semester. This mid-semester feedback has been crucial as I adapted courses to different modalities and needs during the pandemic. All of these courses were taught at Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development

Undergraduate Courses

Reseach Methods - AOD 2201

Course Description:

This course will familiarize students with principles, methods and procedures used to design, analyze, and report scientific research. The course will foster competence in (1) identifying and generating hypotheses; (2) defining and measuring variables; (3) selecting appropriate research designs; (4) selecting appropriate analytical techniques and interpreting results; (5) using disciplinary conventions to communicate research findings. The course is organized around 5 areas: Principles of Scientific Inquiry; Identifying Scientific Variables, subjects and research designs; Planning nonexperimental, quasi-experimental, and experimental research; Analyzing and interpreting these types of research; Communicating findings from these types of research.

Semesters taught:

Teaching Assistant: Spring 2020 (In-person), Fall 2020 (Asynchronous), Spring 2021 (Asynchronous)

Instructor of Record: Spring 2022 (Asynchronous) Syllabus

As instructor of record, I redesigned the final assignment in the course so students developed a mock IRB protocol for a research study throughout the semester. Students first proposed an area of inquiry and then found peer-reviewed research articles in their area of interest. As a culminating project, students proposed a study with a simplified version of Temple’s IRB protocol. This project incorporated ethical considerations, a brief literature review, and applying a research design we learned about in class.

Why Care About College: Higher Education in American Life - EDAD 855

Course Description:

You have decided to go to college. But why? What role will college and in particular Temple University play in your life? Reflect on this important question by looking at the relationship between higher education and American society. What do colleges and universities contribute to our lives? They are, of course, places for teaching and learning. They are also research centers, sports and entertainment venues, sources of community pride and profit, major employers, settings for coming-of-age rituals (parties, courtships, etc.), and institutions that create lifetime identities and loyalties. Using sociological and historical texts and artifacts, students will learn how higher education is shaped by the larger society and how, in turn, it has shaped that society. Become better prepared for the world in which you have chosen to live for the next few years. This course fulfills the GU/U.S. Society General Education credit.

Semesters taught:

Instructor of Record: Spring 2021 (Asynchronous), Fall 2021 (Hybrid), Spring 2022 (Hybrid) Syllabus

My sections of this general education course centered content analyses of institutional documents in small groups. These documents included: collegiate mission statements of land grant colleges, COVID-19 communications, and Supreme Court decisions.

Interpersonal Communication: Critical Competencies for Professional & Personal Success

Course Description:

The primary goal of this course is to help you enhance your interpersonal communication competence so you have successful interpersonal communication with your family, friends and work colleagues. In the first phase of the course you will assess your own communication skills. You will develop and set personal goals and an action plan by which to create the change you wish to see. In the course you will learn the basic components of interpersonal communication situations (communicators, content, and contexts) and you will investigate how interpersonal communication needs and effectiveness change throughout life (in early childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, and old age). The course includes frequent small group discussions which will allow you to integrate course and research information for personal skill development. The course will provide a reflective and supportive environment in which to expand your communication skills and knowledge. NOTE: This course fulfills the Human Behavior (GB) requirement for students under GenEd and Individual & Society (IN) for students under Core.

Semesters taught:

Teaching Assistant: Fall 2021 (Asynchronous)

I developed asynchronous recitation activities, communicated with students, and graded all assignments and exam for one section of the course.

Graduate Courses

Seminar on Theory in Higher Education and Leadership- HIED 8104

Course Description:

This seminar is designed to provide doctoral students a general understanding of (1) what theory is and how it guides scholarly research and effective administrative practice in higher education, and (2) major theoretical perspectives, frameworks, and paradigms that inform higher education research and practice. The course is not meant as an exhaustive survey of all theory relevant to higher education. Rather, the course is intended as an intensive seminar to help students develop the skill of identifying, understanding, and applying theory related to applied research and practice. The following broad questions guide the course: What are the differences between theories, paradigms, conceptual models and frameworks, and epistemologies in higher education? Why is theory important to higher education research and to practice? What are the differences between “micro” and “macro” or “meta” theory? When is each appropriate or helpful in research and practice in higher education? How do we employ theory in research and how does the role of theory differ between qualitative and quantitative methodologies? Where and how does theory appear in a dissertation proposal?

Semesters taught:

Teaching Assistant: Spring 2022 (Hybrid)

As a doctoral candidate, I supported doctoral students throughout the semester as a resource to support their inquiries into different theories that were applicable to their research interests and perspectives. In addition to these one-on-one meetings, I lead the class session on critical race theory. After the conclusion of the course, I have collaborated on research projects with students that I met in this class.

Image Credit

The cover image for this project was created with Nicola Rennie’s aRt package available here.