My Teaching
Unit Maps
A Statement on My Teaching Background and Philosophy
In my experience, life is a long lesson. To learn is a powerful verb, concept, and privilege. I have experienced firsthand the depths and highs that education can provide. I know that an unsupported and detrimental environment can leave a student with a lasting sense of doubt and disillusion. I also comprehend that a well-equipped, passionate, and informed teacher can help to cultivate relationships with learners that empowers them to grow and achieve their academic and personal pursuits. Because education intersects with myriad components of the mind and society, I see it as a naturally interdisciplinary process. Adding to this, it does not take place only in designated locations.[1] Through my experience with applied behavior analysis utilizing the science of learning, I have witnessed tremendous moments of growth through games on a playroom floor. As a teaching assistant for professors of history and social sciences, I have observed instructors illuminate aspects of human existence that left classroom learners with a better understanding of the world. I have also been challenged as a behavior interventionist, when students, frustrated by the lack of evolution from a school’s failure to implement modern technology in curricula, raised my awareness of the digital skills younger learners possess.[2] My life has shown me these perils and promises of education. It is my goal to promote the latter by bringing my diverse background and skillset to higher education. As a historian and social scientist, I aim to provide a broad pedagogy of communication, empathy, as well as transparency and shared authority to my students.[3]
Connections with Sources
[1] See Renee Hobbs, “Propaganda in an Age of Algorithmic Personalization: Expanding Literacy Research and Practice,” Reading Research Quarterly 55, no. 3 (July 2020): 521–33, https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.301. Hobbs contends that young learners actually learn more about the important technologies and literacies of the modern world outside of school. She suggests that our educational system is not equipped to teach the vital skills needed to help students navigate a world where algorithms feed them propaganda and advertisements. My experience working in a middle school mirrors these finding, so I challenge myself to become more technologically literate to help the cause of improving our educational system, both within and without the classroom.
[2] See Robert B. Townsend, “How Is New Media Reshaping the Work of Historians?,” Perspectives on History, November 1, 2010, https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/november-2010/how-is-new-media-reshaping-the-work-of-historians. Although the author discusses history in the context of higher education, his analysis still reflects my experience working in a middle school. Townsend argues that the field of history continuously embraces the monograph to the detriment of forms and texts, which parallels how our educational system has yet to embrace forms such as video essays and social media, among many others. Ultimately, Townsend describes a group of historians he calls “avoiders,” who refuse the incorporation of digital technology. Hopefully, our next generation of teachers at all levels will evade such a categorization.
[3] See Lisa Westman, Teaching with Empathy: How to Transform Your Practice by Understanding Your Learners (Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD, 2021).; Thomas Lee Charlton et al., eds., History of Oral History: Foundations and Methodology (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007). Through my varied experience as a behavioral interventionist, applied behavioral analysis practitioner, professor’s assistant, historian, and social scientist, it brings me great joy to make connections with students and learning materials. Having the ability to bring interdisciplinary dialogue into the classroom is important, especially as students possess different interests, learning styles, and educational goals. I also base my teaching style on Westman, who focusses on the necessity of empathy in the classroom. We are all humans who experience emotion and must juggle our bio-psycho-social dimension as we navigate education. As such, I use an empathetic framework to understand and connect with my learners. Finally, building on the idea of interdisciplinarity, I incorporate the idea of shared authority from public and oral history into the classroom. This concept stresses the fact that any intellectual endeavor, be it research or education, requires the consent of all parties involved. In this case, the educator-learner relationship shares a stake in the process of education. To accomplish this, I utilize transparency and dialogue with my students to ensure that they understand the purpose of lessons, know why we cultivate the skills we work on, and have the space to address concerns and questions.