Teaching Statement

Philosophy — Humility is a core virtue of my approach, learning from mistakes and encountering information with an open mind is conducive to greater understanding. Leadership by example is a hallmark of my instruction style. I find students are receptive to demonstrations with class participation and working through problems together. Repetition has its place, redundant correspondence of information promotes retention and delivering the same concepts in different ways can allow for deeper understanding. Collaboration is fundamental to workplace readiness, so I encourage teamwork and peer to peer assistance. I understand I have a bias favoring the pursuit of economic education. I use this as an advantage by serving as an ambassador for economics at large reinforcing classroom curiosity and extending classroom curriculum for eager students.

Application — Student engagement and critical thinking are bolstered by applying curriculum to current and historical world events. Individualized learning is effective. I make a conscious effort to adapt to the learning styles my students respond to. I recognize different students have different needs and fostering a learning environment where information is accessible to all students is the ideal I aim to achieve. Economic principles are reinforced and demonstrated through the coursework grading scheme which incentivizes participation and review. At times interdisciplinary involvement spurs engagement. Not every student prioritizes economics and that is an opportunity to relate economic topics to other fields and world events.

Educational Environment

An environment conducive to learning is paramount to successful instruction. Function follows form and the classroom is no exception. What this means is that laying the groundwork for a structured supportive classroom ultimately returns higher student performance by the end of the class. Communication is more efficient when the expectations of both the students and instructor are managed. Establishing my classroom as a safe space for learning is a hallmark of my teaching style. My students know that I will not dispense judgement which inspires classroom interaction. Furthermore, a routine dispensary of novel curriculum tandem to an outlined schedule of review primes students for organized learning and better retention. I believe institutions of learning are also places of community. I strive to have a presence in the community where I work, it allows me to develop a familiarity with the local values and make material more accessible. Creating a safe space classroom means that students can trust me should they feel unsafe or have another concern, I will believe them and connect them with appropriate resources. Part of a wholistic educational environment is making yourself available to students outside of the classroom and I follow this practice with my office hours and institutional presence.

Engagement

I supply my class periods with a passion for learning and a vigor for economics. I have an involved lecture style where I instigate discussions with the class as a whole and I have a sense this resonates with students. Repetition sounds boring at a glance but it also gives students confidence when they feel more secure about the material. This confidence translates readily into class participation which in a virtuous cycle enhances learning. My keen and growing pedagogy skills facilitate independent learning as I focus on instilling my students with a tool set for generic problem solving they can apply broadly which incentivizes their engagement. Part of being an engaging educator is keeping up with current trends in teaching. My activity at economics conferences supports this segment of my teaching skillset as I embrace the strategies of other educators. I also stay current by following a few podcasts like “EconTalk” with Russ Roberts and the “Anything But Dismal Podcast”.

Experience

My background is more diverse than most. Part of the beauty of economics is that its suitable for a wide range of audiences and I have had the opportunity to engage with students at different levels. At Washington State University I have been a TA for a 1st year PhD Microeconomic theory course, I was a section instructor for an MBA managerial economics master’s program, and I have taught multiple undergraduate courses at the 100-400 level as the sole instructor of record. I held an adjunct teaching position for Spokane Falls community college teaching Macroeconomics. In my undergraduate degree at Arizona State University, I was a student employee at the economics tutoring center assisting my peers and I was also an officer of the student economics association where we spoke to middle school classrooms about economics. Experience is the best teacher, and teaching is the best experience. My exposure to students with diverse backgrounds qualifies me to explain material in different ways to different audiences and has also uplifted my own mastery of the material by witnessing how it’s processed individually.