My first notable teaching experience was as a tutor in high school, and I learned that I value coaching people to understand and advance their skills in subjects and practices that I love. At Tufts, I challenge both graduate and undergraduate students with mainstream and qualitative GIS (geographic information systems and science). I also co-instruct a core course on the history and development of cities, drawing from my background in history, communication, and human geography. I particularly enjoy working with graduate and undergraduate students on their own research and creative work as a thesis advisor, thesis reader, undergraduate independent major advisor, and informal mentor. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I adapted my teaching to an online synchronous classroom, creating space for student curiosities, growth, and camaraderie. I drew from my experience as the primary instructor for several online introductory geography courses at University of Illinois.
The breadth of my teaching experiences have ranged from young and volunteer to advanced and professional in a diversity of contexts. These include coaching groups of 10- to 14-year-olds on how to sight-read music as young singers and teaching seasoned journalists how to interpret web analytics data to understand their digital audience. I enjoy the challenge of creating opportunities for students of all ages to cultivate an advanced perspective on their own, and I find it satisfying to watch others develop their skills and analytical abilities.
As I teach, I also learn, and this portfolio reflects my continued development as an instructor. My teaching philosophy statement reflects my current view of teaching based on my teaching experiences thus far. A sample of lessons and syllabi I have developed or collaborated on shows how I put this philosophy into practice. My teaching experience and evaluations demonstrate the scope of my experience as an instructor. Finally, my reflections on teaching provide insight into how I iteratively improve my teaching, through feedback, observation, and training.
Teaching Excellence
- Spring 2017: Ranked as outstanding TA for GEOG379, Introduction to GIS, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign – Top 10% of TAs from student course evaluations
- Fall 2016: Ranked as excellent TA for GEOG379, Introduction to GIS, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign – Met excellence standards for teaching from student course evaluations