Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

My research agenda is to understand educational stratification and to evaluate reasonable solutions to ensure a just society. As global citizens, students ought to be aware of inequality and educational problems. In my teaching, my goal is for students to develop a greater understanding of these issues so that they can investigate or solve them or, at minimum, have greater empathy for diverse groups of individuals living in dissimilar spaces. I also want to enable students to ask complex questions since the most difficult problems never have simple solutions. Being a critical thinker is essential to repairing the world, and, in my teaching, I seek to use approaches that can facilitate deep learning.

In my teaching, I like to use multiple pedagogical formats (e.g., lecture, think-pair-share, in-class work time). I find that this approach not only engages students more, but also acknowledges that students may learn in a variety of ways and can better accommodate their diverse learning styles. I also try to relate the course content to students' life experiences and contemporary issues. Whether they know it or not, students bring a great deal of knowledge into the classroom, and by capitalizing on these funds of knowledge, the material becomes more tangible and easier to digest.