Visiting Assistant Professor/Houston Writing Fellow - University of Houston
My Teaching Philosophy
The premise of my philosophy is based on the fact that I view my teaching as a calling. In all my courses, I am persistent in highlighting the significance of rhetoric in various forms of communication. Whether teaching online, in the classroom, or in a hybrid environment, my emphasis on communication lead to discussions on discourse communities and how these communities shape our everyday lives. In underscoring the importance of discourse communities, students gain a sense of social engagement and responsibility. They do this by examining contentious social issues, along with analyzing the rhetoric that surrounds these issues.
First Year Composition
In teaching first year writing courses I imbed rhetorical analysis and theory within the curriculum. Theoretical discussions on ways in which writing can defy students’ normative conceptions of composing is key to their understanding of rhetoric. Course work that encompass the five canons of rhetoric provide students with the tools to articulate both a process and product when writing. My students are assigned tasks, such as discourse community analysis, documentaries, literature reviews, and ePortfolios, which focus on rhetorical analysis of genres and language within the context of varied forms of media. Students are able to recognize, with a heightened awareness, the rhetorical elements found within a multitude of communication modes. In doing so, students become more mindful of prevalent social issues using a rhetorical lens.
Workplace and Technical Writing
Due to my extensive experience as a technical writer, linking assignments with industry practices plays a vital role in my pedagogy. I stress to students the relevance of their evolving writing and analysis skills as key components for their success in the workplace. For example, in both my Workplace Writing and Technical Writing courses, tasks are created using typical projects that would likely be produced in a workplace setting. Some of those projects may include: group project reports/proposals, meeting agendas and minutes, progress reports, creating websites, and user/instruction manuals. I believe it is essential that students make connections to events and/or practices outside the classroom in order to apply what they learn inside the classroom. I find that these pedagogical practices also inspire students to apply learning objectives across disciplines.
Student Support
In assigning scholarly projects, I provide my students with tools to support and guide their research with the intention of perpetuating credibility and integrity in the writing process. My curriculum often goes beyond the narrow conception students have about English composition and, as a result, engages them in a method of critical thinking that promotes empowerment. I am also diligent about taking an interest in my students in terms of their professional goals. I undertake the role of mentor, as a well as teacher, in order to support students’ self-confidence and assist them in fostering their capabilities. Thus, my students are more immersed in the subject matter and more confident in their writing skills.
My belief is that I serve my students in a capacity of not only a dispensary of knowledge, but a provider of comfortable and cultivating environments where they can grow their abilities both inside and outside the classroom. The core objective in my teaching is to ensure that students become critical thinkers. In order to do this, I expose my students to different learning practices, including diverse assignments that challenge their thinking and open up new perceptions of how they view social constructs within society.