Courses taught
Suffolk University English Department (2018)
Boston College/Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (2017)
The New York City College of Technology/The City University of New York English Department (2011-2016)
Kent Prep (summer 2015): taught using materials designed to introduce and strengthen critical reading, vocabulary, and composition skills
The NYC Technical Career Institute College of Technology English Department (2010-2011)
The University of Pittsburgh English Department (2007-2008)
The University of Pittsburgh and Find the Rivers! (2007)
- First Year Writing II: first-year writing course that focused on the study and practice of argument and research writing, with an emphasis placed on process, revision, and the ability to critically read of a variety of texts.
Boston College/Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (2017)
- Writing for Research: weekly seminar designed for participants who are low-income, under-represented, and/or first-generation undergraduates preparing to pursue and attain doctoral degrees and enter careers in research and academia.
The New York City College of Technology/The City University of New York English Department (2011-2016)
- English Composition I: first-year writing course that emphasized the relationship between writers and readers, with a special focus paid to the strategies writers use to influence their readers; students wrote process, narrative, and argument essays and all major papers were peer-edited and revised; class discussions linked coursework with current events.
- English Composition II: first-year writing course that utilized academic essays, literary fiction, and periodical publications to master four writing tasks - summary, critical reading/critique, synthesis, and research; students actively engaged with texts through regular response papers, synthesized the past with the present in a research project, and created a final portfolio evidencing revision and self-reflection.
- Writing for the Workplace: advanced-level English course honing skills used in the workplace, with coursework designed to reflect the majors of enrolled students, including nursing, graphic design, and engineering; students created various deliverables (business letters, memos, minutes, process papers, and reports) and practiced harnessing the power of word choice, tone, approach, revision, and follow-through.
Kent Prep (summer 2015): taught using materials designed to introduce and strengthen critical reading, vocabulary, and composition skills
- 6th grade English
- 9th grade English
- ACT/ SAT prep
The NYC Technical Career Institute College of Technology English Department (2010-2011)
- English Composition: developmental writing course that sharpened students' expository, narrative, and descriptive writing skills; feedback focused on job-preparedness.
- Public Speaking: intensive summer course through which students composed, polished, and presented five original speeches.
The University of Pittsburgh English Department (2007-2008)
- Seminar in Composition: introductory first-year writing course that featured an integration of writing and reading; a semester-long investigation of language, culture, and society; and a strong focus on student writing.
The University of Pittsburgh and Find the Rivers! (2007)
- Team Workshop Teacher: in collaboration with the “Find the Rivers!” community development and urban renewal team, ran writing workshops, organized events, and participated in outreach; workshops were conducted at an adult recovery and wellness center and an after-school program for elementary school students.
Accolades
Scored above University- and Department-wide averages on my student evaluations during each of my semesters teaching at the New York City College of Technology (2011-2016)
Received a letter of distinction from University of Pittsburgh English Department Chair David Bartholomae for exemplary marks on my student evaluations (2008)
Received a letter of distinction from University of Pittsburgh English Department Chair David Bartholomae for exemplary marks on my student evaluations (2008)
Teaching philosophy
The business of being a teacher involves making continual adjustments. How do we instruct while also encouraging students to develop a strong sense of authority? Why are certain rules malleable while others are serious and steadfast? Can voice be taught if it seeks to be authentic? How much does taste account for the success of any writer? How much does taste account for the instruction offered by any given academic institution? How much should writing change in anticipation of a prospective audience?
F. Scott Fitzgerald determined, “The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” As a teacher, I aim to help my students function more effectively; I also seek to increase their available pool of ideas. My classroom exists as a reaction to the insights and strengths of my students; risk-taking is not only encouraged, it is required. Students are asked to generate ideas through a variety of means: on their own, in reaction to one another, in response to a primary text, after placing texts in conversation with one another, and as a result of investigation that is done outside of the materials that are introduced in class.
I have discovered that emphasizing both process and product empowers students to assume accountability for their own choices, thereby motivating them to make thoughtful decisions. Together, my students and I explore the complexities that are embedded into the relationship between choice and consequence. This exploration begins with fundamental close reading exercises, and grows to incorporate all of the questions that arise during critique, analysis, peer-review, and self-editing (including the difficult-to-answer, “Why did I write this?” and “Why should you want to read this?”).
My role in the classroom is to provide students with enough knowledge and feedback that they feel adequately supported during the oft-confusing process of composition. We seek to determine how, as individual thinkers, we can embrace spontaneity even when our craft is careful and deliberate. Using Fitzgerald’s statement on intelligence as a mantra, the semester becomes a classroom challenge to identify and employ unique, personal strategies that give reading and writing consequence.
Ultimately, I strive to transfer the responsibility of learning onto my students. In addition to being writers, I ask my students to be both peer-reviewers and self-editors. I place a strong emphasis on developing (and consequently maintaining) reading, writing, and editing habits. Once we become accustom to evaluating the world with a writer’s eye, we can then begin to recognize and ultimately predict how audience and desired intent shape the way messages are delivered.
F. Scott Fitzgerald determined, “The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” As a teacher, I aim to help my students function more effectively; I also seek to increase their available pool of ideas. My classroom exists as a reaction to the insights and strengths of my students; risk-taking is not only encouraged, it is required. Students are asked to generate ideas through a variety of means: on their own, in reaction to one another, in response to a primary text, after placing texts in conversation with one another, and as a result of investigation that is done outside of the materials that are introduced in class.
I have discovered that emphasizing both process and product empowers students to assume accountability for their own choices, thereby motivating them to make thoughtful decisions. Together, my students and I explore the complexities that are embedded into the relationship between choice and consequence. This exploration begins with fundamental close reading exercises, and grows to incorporate all of the questions that arise during critique, analysis, peer-review, and self-editing (including the difficult-to-answer, “Why did I write this?” and “Why should you want to read this?”).
My role in the classroom is to provide students with enough knowledge and feedback that they feel adequately supported during the oft-confusing process of composition. We seek to determine how, as individual thinkers, we can embrace spontaneity even when our craft is careful and deliberate. Using Fitzgerald’s statement on intelligence as a mantra, the semester becomes a classroom challenge to identify and employ unique, personal strategies that give reading and writing consequence.
Ultimately, I strive to transfer the responsibility of learning onto my students. In addition to being writers, I ask my students to be both peer-reviewers and self-editors. I place a strong emphasis on developing (and consequently maintaining) reading, writing, and editing habits. Once we become accustom to evaluating the world with a writer’s eye, we can then begin to recognize and ultimately predict how audience and desired intent shape the way messages are delivered.