I believe in a collaborative, creative learning environment, in which students play a role in shaping the questions that inform readings and discussions. In my Fall 2010 English 26 class, a blog was a central focus of our class environment. The course, designed for non-English majors, was an exploration of the limits of the human — primarily the space occupied by the vampiric, monstrous “other” who is not one of us and yet is, at times, unsettlingly like us. It offered an opportunity for us to probe the intersections between science and the humanities (for instance, when asking “what is human?” we were also interested in thinking about “what are the humanities?”). This proved a particularly stimulating framework for a group that consisted primarily of pre-med science majors. The blog allowed students to respond to the texts informally and generate questions before class discussion.
In addition to designing and teaching this course, I have also served as a teaching assistant and teaching apprentice for a number of undergraduate classes at Duke (see below). I am also fulfilling requirements for a Certificate in College Teaching at Duke, and I will be teaching again in the fall of 2012 — a gateway to the major class, made possibly by my Bass Instructorship (awarded for 2012-13).
Instructor:
- Fall 2012, Duke University – English 184S: Mystery and Detection, Fall 2012 (Readings in Genre/English major gateway class made possible by the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Fellowship for Undergraduate Instruction)
- Fall 2010, Duke University - English 26S.01: Vampires, Monsters, Humans
(See course syllabus and collaborative class blog)
Assistantships, etc,
- Teaching Assistant: Contemporary American Fiction (Victor Strandberg), Spring 2012
- Teaching Assistant: Nineteenth-Century Novel (Nancy Armstrong), Fall 2011.
- Teaching Assistant: Classics of American Literature, 1820-1860 (Victor Strandberg), Spring 2011
- Teaching Assistant: Victorian Poetry (Kathy Alexis Psomiades), Spring 2010
- Tutor, Writing Studio, Duke University Thompson Writing Program
- Teaching Apprentice: Studies in a Single British Author: Jane Austen (Charlotte Sussman), Spring 2009
- Teaching Apprentice: Shakespeare’s Comedies/Romances (Maureen Quilligan), Spring 2008
Preparing Future Faculty
I am currently (2011-2012) a Preparing Future Faculty Fellow in Duke University’s Graduate School. For more information see the Duke website and the national program website.
The Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program is an ongoing national initiative designed to better prepare graduate students and postdocs for the multiple roles they may be asked to assume as future faculty members in a variety of academic institutions. (Duke Graduate School)
My PFF mentor is Janet Myers at Elon University.
Certificate in College Teaching
I am currently completing the requirements for Duke University’s CIT. More information is available here.
Pedagogy Forum
During the 2011-2012 academic year I am facilitating the Pedagogy Forum in the Department of English at Duke University. This involves organizing a series of workshops to introduce third-year graduate students to various pedagogical topics. These include sessions on course descriptions, syllabus design, grading, using technology in the classroom, and creative teaching methods. A few resources I put together include:
- Designing Your English 26
- Teaching with Technology: Some Resources
- Pedagogy Resources on Teaching Methods (leading discussions; creating engaged learning environments, etc.)
- Writing Your Syllabus