TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
I love working with students. While I enjoy research and writing, it is connecting with Berkeley’s diverse students and sharing with them my passion for political economy and global studies that I find the most rewarding. One of my primary objectives is to open the door to students' exploration of their cultural, political, and personal identities. My teaching philosophy is firmly rooted in a commitment to four distinct yet inter-related goals: (1) Fostering an inclusive and interactive learning environment, (2) Cultivating critical thinking and writing skills, (3) Setting high expectations for my students. I strive to achieve all three of these goals in every course that I teach, and (4) Making learning fun.
Creating an inclusive and interactive learning environment. Many students – especially freshman, students of color, and international students – find Berkeley intimidating. As a woman and a person of color, I can empathize with that feeling of vulnerability and imposter syndrome. I do my best to create a supportive, respectful and open intellectual atmosphere in which every student feels that they are integral members of a community. I do this in a number of ways. First and foremost, I learn everyone’s names. Second, I create opportunities for all students to participate in the classroom. Second, I employ interactive software to ask provocative questions and create opportunities for students to interact with one another during lecture. Third, when possible, I arrange the desks so that students face each other rather than the front of the room, which greatly facilitates discussion. For my smaller classes, Finally, I like to include at least one team project per semester, which gets the students to work together and appreciate the magic of collaboration.
Cultivating critical thinking and writing skills. In order to get students to engage with the course material, I encourage them to find linkages between what can seem like abstract theories and obscure historical events to current events and the social issues they care most about. To that end, I update my course every year to keep the materials fresh and relevant. Second, I strive to devise thought provoking discussion and exam questions which compel them to not only synthesize course materials but personally reflect upon the course content. Third, I find that frequent, short reflective writing assignments are an effective way to keep students engaged with the material and push them to practice articulating complex thoughts and honing their writing skills. Finally, I am constantly looking for new digital tools that can keep my students engaged.
Setting high expectations. I find that students achieve more when I set high standards and expectations for everyone involved, including myself. In my view, setting high expectations does not mean that every one of my students must receive an “A” in the course to be considered successful. After all, students come to college with a wide range of skills and varying knowledge of historical and current events. Rather, my expectations are based on each student’s demonstrated commitment to improvement. As teachers, I believe we have a responsibility to ensure that the progress of each and every student is encouraged, valued, and appreciated. First, to get students to perform at their best, I put forth my best effort to clearly communicate my course policies at the beginning of the term. My syllabi are very detailed and I do not deviate from the schedule and deadlines laid out in them. Second, I provide clear instructors and expectations for each assignment and provide grading rubrics to my GSIs and readers. I set aside time to grade a few assignments with GSIs and readers to ensure that we are on the same page with respect to grading. Third, I allocate plenty of time to carefully grade student assignments and provide constructive feedback.
Making learning fun. When I exhibit excitement about the course content and present materials in a variety of formats - scholarly research, newspaper articles, novels, films, and documentaries - I find that students become more engaged. An impassioned teacher can make policymaking processes fascinating and relevant to biology students. Sustaining student attention is especially important in large lecture environments. In these instances, I find it crucial to regularly pose questions such that students discover what aspects of the material they find intriguing or puzzling. In class, I empower students to explore the topics most interesting to them and to find creative ways to share their research with one another. In recent years, I have become particularly fond of setting up team debates in the classroom, which teaches students how to do independent research, collaborate with others in vetting evidence and formulating cogent arguments, and practice valuable public speaking skills. In my course on Silicon Valley, I invite alums and former students to share their career journeys and inspire the next generation of Berkeley grads.
If you are interested in watching me discuss how to effectively use Oxford-style debates in the classroom, you can watch me here giving a talk at the 2019 Showcase of Teaching Innovation and Reinvention. My talk starts at 14:41.
Creating an inclusive and interactive learning environment. Many students – especially freshman, students of color, and international students – find Berkeley intimidating. As a woman and a person of color, I can empathize with that feeling of vulnerability and imposter syndrome. I do my best to create a supportive, respectful and open intellectual atmosphere in which every student feels that they are integral members of a community. I do this in a number of ways. First and foremost, I learn everyone’s names. Second, I create opportunities for all students to participate in the classroom. Second, I employ interactive software to ask provocative questions and create opportunities for students to interact with one another during lecture. Third, when possible, I arrange the desks so that students face each other rather than the front of the room, which greatly facilitates discussion. For my smaller classes, Finally, I like to include at least one team project per semester, which gets the students to work together and appreciate the magic of collaboration.
Cultivating critical thinking and writing skills. In order to get students to engage with the course material, I encourage them to find linkages between what can seem like abstract theories and obscure historical events to current events and the social issues they care most about. To that end, I update my course every year to keep the materials fresh and relevant. Second, I strive to devise thought provoking discussion and exam questions which compel them to not only synthesize course materials but personally reflect upon the course content. Third, I find that frequent, short reflective writing assignments are an effective way to keep students engaged with the material and push them to practice articulating complex thoughts and honing their writing skills. Finally, I am constantly looking for new digital tools that can keep my students engaged.
Setting high expectations. I find that students achieve more when I set high standards and expectations for everyone involved, including myself. In my view, setting high expectations does not mean that every one of my students must receive an “A” in the course to be considered successful. After all, students come to college with a wide range of skills and varying knowledge of historical and current events. Rather, my expectations are based on each student’s demonstrated commitment to improvement. As teachers, I believe we have a responsibility to ensure that the progress of each and every student is encouraged, valued, and appreciated. First, to get students to perform at their best, I put forth my best effort to clearly communicate my course policies at the beginning of the term. My syllabi are very detailed and I do not deviate from the schedule and deadlines laid out in them. Second, I provide clear instructors and expectations for each assignment and provide grading rubrics to my GSIs and readers. I set aside time to grade a few assignments with GSIs and readers to ensure that we are on the same page with respect to grading. Third, I allocate plenty of time to carefully grade student assignments and provide constructive feedback.
Making learning fun. When I exhibit excitement about the course content and present materials in a variety of formats - scholarly research, newspaper articles, novels, films, and documentaries - I find that students become more engaged. An impassioned teacher can make policymaking processes fascinating and relevant to biology students. Sustaining student attention is especially important in large lecture environments. In these instances, I find it crucial to regularly pose questions such that students discover what aspects of the material they find intriguing or puzzling. In class, I empower students to explore the topics most interesting to them and to find creative ways to share their research with one another. In recent years, I have become particularly fond of setting up team debates in the classroom, which teaches students how to do independent research, collaborate with others in vetting evidence and formulating cogent arguments, and practice valuable public speaking skills. In my course on Silicon Valley, I invite alums and former students to share their career journeys and inspire the next generation of Berkeley grads.
If you are interested in watching me discuss how to effectively use Oxford-style debates in the classroom, you can watch me here giving a talk at the 2019 Showcase of Teaching Innovation and Reinvention. My talk starts at 14:41.