Teaching Principles

Here are a few hallmarks of my teaching, based on 9 years of classroom experience and my study of the latest pedagogical research:

Set Clear Learning Goals: Every time I design a course or training program, I begin by specifying each of our major objectives and explaining why they are important.  I also highlight how the goals of the course will help them achieve their personal academic or life goals.  Pedagogical research has shown that students are more motivated when they understand how course content relates to their own values and interests.

Example: When I teach students the principles of writing, I emphasize how these skills will help them succeed in their professional lives, even if writing is not their favorite subject.

Build on Prior Knowledge: According to educational studies, students learn more effectively when they can relate a new concept to something they’ve learned before.  For this reason, I ask students what they already know about a topic at the start of class, reference previous lessons when discussing something new, and craft stair-step assignments in which students learn specific basic skills before combining them in more complex projects.  Conversely, I also anticipate when students may have learned something incorrectly in the past and hold ‘mythbusting’ sessions to examine and challenge faulty preconceptions.

Example: In my Second World War course, students are given a multi-step research project in which each step builds on the last one.  For example, in two short early assignments, students analyze a secondary source and then a primary source before combining different types of sources in their final product.

Prioritize Active Learning: My experience in education has taught me that students stay much more engaged and understand course material more deeply when they are active participants in learning, rather than passive receivers of information.  To teach specific ideas in an interesting way, I design a wide variety of active learning activities from role-playing games to simulations and debates.  This is particularly effective if students can figure out a new concept for themselves through the activity, rather than simply being told about it. 

Example: When we study the French Revolution, I break students into groups that reflect the divisions in French society (nobles, clergy, peasantry, etc).  As we learn the events of the Revolution, each group analyzes how their demographic would have reacted to the new developments and why so much conflict resulted.

Incorporate Technology: Even when teaching in more traditional classroom settings, I endeavor to use technology to create a more interesting learning experience and teach students 21st century skills.  I rely on the features of online Learning Management Systems (LMS) to enhance learning outside the classroom, teach students how to use digital tools, and show students examples of my own digital projects.

Example: In my Twentieth-Century Germany course, I directed students to create a website for their final project, rather than writing a traditional paper.  Throughout the semester, I led tutorials on how to use basic web-creation tools such as WordPress and Wix. 

Iteration: No class goes exactly as expected the first time, and I’ve certainly had my share of failures in the classroom.  But each time I encounter a problem, I use it as a learning experience to make improvements to the course.  I also constantly communicate with colleagues to hear what worked for them or what didn’t.

Example: When I transitioned to teaching at Furman, long conversations with my new colleagues helped me adjust to a different teaching environment. This included transitioning from more lecture-based courses to smaller ones centered on discussion and activities.