IV. Professional Development
1. Teaching Workshops and Seminars
I have participated in a number of workshops and seminars with the goal of improving my teaching. In what follows, I present my efforts to professionalize my teaching, starting from the most recent to the most distant workshop or seminar at Washington State University, Roanoke College, Dartmouth College, the University of Chicago, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and The New School for General Studies.
1) Washington State University
Department: School of Politics, Philosophy, & Public Affairs
Date: Fall 2012-present
1. Graduate Student Mentoring Seminar, Spring 2015
I participated in a faculty seminar on how to best mentor graduate students, which was facilitated by Dr. Rebecca Craft.
2) Roanoke College
Department: Public Affairs
Date: Spring, 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2009, Fall 2009
1. INQ (Intellectual Inquiry) Lunch Workshops, Spring 2011
In these workshops we discussed effective oral presentations and how to improve students’ writing skills.
2. Workshop “Engaging Ideas,” Spring 2011
In this workshop, junior faculty analyzed John Bean’s book Engaging Ideas in order to obtain new ideas about how to integrate writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom.
3. Feedback from Senior Faculty Member who Audits my Class, Fall 2010
A senior member from the philosophy department audited my class “Contemporary European Political Philosophy” throughout the entire Fall 2010 semester. After each session, we discussed what worked well and what I could improve. This feedback greatly improved my teaching.
4. Teaching Observations, Fall 2010
As part of my efforts to enhance my teaching practice, I invited three senior faculty members to observe both of the classes I was teaching in the Fall 2010 semester. The feedback I received from these observations greatly enhanced my teaching.
5. Dean’s Teaching Luncheon, Fall 2010
In these luncheons, faculty members whose research focuses on innovative teaching methodologies provided insights into how to engage students in classroom discussions, how to balance research and teaching, and how to use innovative technology in the classroom.
6. Workshop, “Engaging Students in Course Readings,” Fall 2010
This workshop provided insights into how to best engage students in course readings.
7. New Faculty Teaching Improvement Meeting, Fall 2009
In this workshop, we discussed (and tried out) innovative teaching methodologies meant to enhance student engagement in the classroom.
8. Curriculum Development Committee Feedback on New Course, Fall 2009
I had to submit my new course proposal and syllabus for the INQ 120 course “Marx’s Challenge to the Good Life in Modern Societies” to the Curriculum Development Committee. The feedback strengthened my syllabus and the design for this course.
3) Dartmouth College
Department: Government
Date: Winter/Spring 2009
1.Individual Teaching Consultation, Winter/Spring 2009
I had regular meetings with a senior political philosopher to reflect on the classes I was teaching. These meetings improved my teaching performance.
4) The University of Chicago
Center: Center of Teaching and Learning (CTL)
Date: Fall 2006; Spring 2007
1. Teaching Portfolio Workshop, Fall 2006
I participated in this workshop in order to assess and improve my teaching. We discussed drafts of participants and provided each other with feedback for improvement.
2. Teaching Philosophy Workshop, Fall 2006
In this workshop we discussed the central components of a teaching philosophy. We started drafting the teaching philosophy and provided each other with constructive critique.
3. Midterm Review, Spring 2007
The midterm review is voluntary and provided me with an early insight into how well my course was going and what I could do early on to improve it. A representative from the Center of Teaching and Learning met with students and provided them with questions concerning the instructor and the course, which they answered in smaller groups. The representative discussed the students’ evaluations with me and made suggestions for improving the course.
4. Individual Teaching Consultation, Spring 2007
These consultations gave me feedback on my teaching, and provided an opportunity for me to discuss my teaching strategies in relation to my classroom teaching goals. I received feedback on course syllabi and teaching portfolios as well as on managing the undergraduate/graduate mix.
5) The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Center: The Center for Writing and Language Arts (CWLA)
Arranged workshops in which all faculty participated
Date: Fall 2002; Spring 2003
1. Course and Syllabus Design, Fall 2002
What are the most important kinds of knowledge and skills a student should gain from a course? How can course content and assignments best be arranged in a sequence over the course of an academic quarter? We used actual syllabi as examples in this workshop.
2. Workshop on Writing Assignments, Spring 2003
What makes a good writing assignment? In this course we analyzed what makes a good writing assignment by discussing the actual writing assignments used by instructors in courses taught during the semester. The workshop leader and instructors provided constructive criticism for improving the writing assignments.
6) The New School for General Studies
Department: Social Sciences
Date: Spring 2000, Fall 2000, Fall 2001
The chair of the Social Science Department provided me with the opportunity to design and teach my first course in the United States. I had continuous one-on-one feedback sessions with her, in which we reflected on my teaching skills. She also observed me once in the classroom and provided me with the feedback that “she knows her subject very well and holds herself very well for a novel teacher.”
2. Curriculum Development Awards
1) Curriculum Development Grant, 2011, Roanoke College, $4,000: to develop the course “Contemporary Feminist Political Theory.”
2) Curriculum Development Grant, 2010, Roanoke College, $4,000: to develop the course “The Philosophy of Middle Eastern Politics.”