Teaching

Pedagogy

I believe the perceived usefulness of communication is an asset in teaching, but can also act as an initial barrier, as students enter communication classrooms expecting communication to be “easy.” My goal as an educator is to invite students to see the complexity and contingency of communication practices, pushing them to apply communication theory to their own everyday challenges. 

In my classes, I design learning goals around application and analysis of communication concepts, with the ultimate goal of creation of new material that uses these concepts to investigate everyday problems of communication. I use a variety of teaching strategies that emphasize experiential learning, including field work, case studies, and community member interviews,  in order to achieve these goals. I also believe in beyond-classroom advising and have worked to develop career resources for students. I offer workshops and engage in coaching beyond my job interviewing class to help our COM majors secure jobs after graduation.