Philosophy Overview 

I teach to include, to facilitate, to inform, and to engage. I use relevant and research-based materials in my classroom, while acknowledging that my demographic background and experiences influence my ideas and methods. My ultimate goal in teaching is to create a place of diverse discussions and respectful behavior among all participants in the class. 

In the writing discipline, we often emphasize the phrase, “Show, don’t tell.” Therefore, I do not perceive myself as someone who imparts knowledge, but I walk through the learning process with my students—sometimes by engaging them in fast-paced lectures or discussing real-life and hypothetical examples, and other times by learning together, step-by-step, when we work with a new social media management program or web design platform. In this manner, I set an example that students’ educational experiences will extend far beyond the years they take classes. 

The field of media, with its strong ties to technological advancement, continuously reinvents itself, while still demonstrating elements of long-standing theories in new and intriguing ways. As an instructor, I make myself aware of the constant shifts in this field through academic and practical research so that I am able to adapt with my students. Further, as the world becomes “smaller” through stronger digital connections, I also mediate diverse cultural experiences—facilitating project-based knowledge sharing and language sensitivity discussions among students. 

Ultimately, I begin each class with a statement made by one of my professors many years ago: “When you take your seat in class, think about what it would be like to sit in a different seat in the room. Same class, different viewpoint. Life is no different.”