Teaching Philosophy

My teaching, like my research, is motivated by the belief that effective teaching, focused on social justice, can create social change. I believe teaching and learning are transformational, emancipatory processes that can empower new voices to lead. Over my nine years of experience teaching courses and workshops for community organizations as well as college undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty, I have clarified my role as a learning experience designer and facilitator of learning. I take pride in creating hands-on learning opportunities by which participants learn the theory as they practice the skills, aiding them in their journey from novice to mastery. My philosophy builds on multiple pedagogies – constructivism, social constructivism, constructionism, and situated learning theory – to inform how I design learning experiences (both face-to-face and online) and teach.

I distill my philosophy of effective teaching into four main activities:

1. I foster an equitable classroom climate.

2. I empower learners to take ownership of their learning process.

3. I situate learning in the learner’s context and passion.

4. I adopt hands-on active learning practices.

The common thread throughout my pedagogy is that I aim to foster active learning environments that empower all learners to bravely participate in the journey of learning. As one of my students stated, “Over the course of the semester, I have witnessed the change in how fellow students in the classroom think and respond to different situations...our thinking has evolved from being a third party of leadership to thinking like a leader.” I hope that by designing these learning experiences and environments, my students can see themselves as civic agents and leaders in their fields.

My full Teaching Philosophy can be found HERE.