Being an Educator

The word transformative represents my pedagogical approach. Educational literature characterizes transformative pedagogy as a type of activist approach, drawing from constructivist and critical pedagogy. Through this lens, education is treated as a process used to help learners (1) nurture a critical consciousness, (2) examine their own knowledge, (3) see themselves in relation to others, (4) gain an appreciation for multiple perspectives, and (5)work toward social change. There are many ways that I foster this approach in my classroom. This always begins with the integration of the principles of universal design to make my classes not only accessible, but equitable and inclusive for diverse learner types. From there, I engage learners in a problem-centered and justice-oriented curriculum using a range of experiential, community-engaged, problem-centered, and narrative based pedagogical methods.

Below is a list of graduate and undergraduate university courses I have designed and led as instructor of record.

University Courses

Arcadia University

IP 501: Introduction to Peace and Conflict Resolution (Graduate Course)

IP 585A/IS385A/PS385A: Territory and Conflict (Graduate Course)

IP 585/PS585: Geographies of Displacement in Georgia (Global Field Study Course)

Moravian University

Interdisciplinary 110: World Geography and Global Issues (Online and Traditional)

Learning in Common 101 D: Reel Power: War, Crisis, and Popular Geopolitics (First Year Writing Seminar)

Peace and Justice Studies 198: Conflict Transformation

Sociology 246: Basic Research Methods

Sociology 258: Power and Conflict

Sociology 292: Migration

Sociology 347: Advanced Research in Anthropology

Rutgers University

01:450:103 Human Geography: Space, Place, and Location (Online, Traditional, and Accelerated Winter/Summer)

01:450:205 World Cultural Regions

01:450:332 Eastern Europe and Eurasia

01:450:405 Political Geography

School of Engineering, Engineers of the Future Summer Institute, Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Writing

Juniata College

College Writing Seminar (Laboratory Assistant)

Behavioral Analysis of Organizations (Teaching Assistant)

A full teaching portfolio, including a statement of teaching philosophy, diversity statement, sample syllabi, and student evaluations, is available upon request.

Peer Education and Workshop Facilitation

Being an educator has always extended well beyond the walls of the college classroom. I have taken on the role of “educator” in a range of contexts, including education improvement programs and anti-trafficking workshops to facilitating outdoor recreation programs in aquatics and climbing. Some examples are described below:

As the 2022-2023 Moravian University InFocus War and Peace Scholar-in-Residence, I facilitated two important campus initiatives: (1) the Navigating Conflict Workshop Series, and (2) a Faculty Seminar on Reconciliation. Navigating Conflict was a four-part workshop series that provided participants a set of basic conflict resolution and communication tools for working through interpersonal disputes, tension-filled conversations, and more intractable issues. The series included two-hour workshops on the following topics and skills: (1) Perspectives on Conflict, (2) Active and Reflective Listening, (3) Dialogue, and (4) Appreciative Inquiry. Meanwhile, the Faculty Seminar on Reconciliation included a group of ~10 faculty members that met four times. The first session that I facilitated emphasized the relationship between conflict transformation and reconciliation.

Designing and leading training workshops at the forefront of important pedagogical debates has been been especially central to my university service experience. This is exemplified by the administrative leadership I have shown in my involvement with the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) at Moravian University, as well as a multi-year association with the Teaching Assistant Project (TAP) and Rutgers Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (RASTL) at Rutgers University. Through these initiatives I have designed and facilitated numerous teaching improvement workshops for faculty and graduate student teaching assistants.

Finally, as part of the Speakers’ Bureau for Valley Against Sex Trafficking (VAST) I led trainings for community organizations, as well as educational and healthcare institutions on trauma-informed care, and identification and responses to human trafficking.