Equity • Agency • Transparency
My teaching is informed by critical pedagogy, translingual pedagogy, and antiracist writing assessment. My teaching philosophy can be summed up in three terms: equity, agency, and transparency.
Equity: By equity, I do not mean "fairness" across all groups or treating everyone "the same." Instead, equitable pedagogy means centering the voices and perspectives of individuals how have been and continue to be marginalized. My course content, assignments, and discussions seek to displace historically privileged voices. My courses are designed for all students to thrive, rather than survive.
Agency: Student agency is essential to student learning. In as many ways as possible, I give students agency in my courses, from choosing their own research topics to assessing their own work. I seek to recognize students' home languages and knowledges as assets, rather than deficits.
Transparency: Transparency means clearly articulating my pedagogical goals and personal commitments to students as well as rendering transparent and visible the power structures within and beyond the classroom and academy.
Through equity, agency, and transparency, I hope to move toward education as a practice of freedom. Because these are continuing labors, rather than accomplished deeds, I am constantly revising my courses and pedagogies.
I was hired as an Assistant Teaching Professor for my expertise in antiracist writing assessment and digital rhetoric. At present, I am teaching Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric, a course focused on conducting deep, ethically-informed research and producing multimodal arguments for diverse audiences.
In the first iteration of this course, students have produced a wide range of texts, including:
Courses Taught:
As a graduate student at TCU, I have taught several versions of the required writing courses. ENGL 10803 is for first-year students and focuses on writing as an inquiry process. ENGL 20803 is for second-year and above students and focuses on writing arguments. Both courses are writing workshops that emphasize drafting, revision, and peer response.
Courses Taught:
I began my teaching career at Emerson College under the guidance of John Trimbur, who introduced me to translingual pedagogy and theory. Over the course of my three years teaching at Emerson, I taught several variations of the WR 101: Writing I (previously Introduction to College Writing) and WR 121: Research Writing. Emerson's First Year Writing program focused on a genre-based approach to the teaching of writing and emphasized writing for public audiences.
Courses Taught:
During my time at Emerson, I also taught writing at Wheelock College, which has since become Boston University's Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Wheelock's writing program consisted of theme-based critical reading and writing courses.
Courses Taught:
While serving as the Assistant Director of TCU's Center for Digital Expression, I taught a TCU Extended Education course on designing a website using website builders.
Course Description: "Do you need a professional website for your personal business or brand? Are you interested in blogging? Do you want an online presence to connect with friends and family? Then, this is the course for you! We'll go through an introduction to website design using website builders, such as WordPress®, Weebly®, Wix®, Squarespace®, etc. We'll also discuss integrating your website with social media and creating written and visual content. This entry-level course is sponsored by TCU's Center for Digital Expression and is open to all ages and types of website projects. Computers will be provided."
Click here to view an infographic I created for the course explaining the architecture of a website, necessary elements of a website, and agenda for the course.
TCU Summer Camps
TCU Summer Camps are day camps for young members of the Forth Worth and Dallas community. For three summers, I co-taught a filmmaking course where students wrote, produced, and edited their own short films.
Summer Discovery at Emerson College
Summer Discovery is a private program that allows high school students from around the country and globe to begin exploring a college education. In Summer 2015, I taught two writing-focused courses.