ALS6015
During the Spring 2018 semester at Cornell University, I participated in the course ALS6015 - The Practice of Teaching in Higher Education. From this course, I learned of the frameworks that modern educators rely upon when they approach a classroom. The course also encouraged me to reflect on my experiences as an educator to form a coherent set of teaching philosophies and practices that guide my brand of pedagogy. This section archives the materials that I've created for that class.
Leading Class Discussions
During the course, I had the opportunity to lead two class sessions with another -- designing and facilitating discussions on material from the course. We took this opportunity to put into practice various principles like designing around a learning objective, using synchronous/asynchronous activities, and creating valuable assessments that target specific objectives. The formative materials for these two discussions can be found below.
The first session was on the topic of Diversity and Inclusion in the Classroom. We focused on developing the notion that compassion is an important quality to have as an instructor, enabling the classroom to feel inclusive to its diverse individuals. The session itself was marked by having the class troubleshoot case studies of difficult situations that could occur in a classroom. These case studies were focused on identifying accessibility and inclusivity issues as well as developing proactive and reactive solutions.
The second session was on the topic of Universal Design for Learning Principles and Internationalizing the Curriculum. We discussed a framework to help design a more inclusive and engaging classroom. We also discussed ways to provide international experiences in the classroom through the curriculum.
Download Discussion Materials (.ZIP)
A Digital Portfolio
As a capstone for ALS6015, I've turned my personal website into a digital portfolio of documents multimedia that are important to my academic identity. This particular page is an aggregation of all materials that I've created for this digital portfolio for ALS6015. The Research and Teaching pages will be updated but this page serves as a a snapshot.
The Teaching CV
The teaching curriculum vitae is an important summary of accomplishments and experiences written for a possible faculty position at a teaching institution.
Download Teaching CV (.PDF)
Teaching Statement
The teaching statement is a summary of my teaching philosophies and practices. The ultimate goal of my teaching is to give my students an appreciation of how a mathematician approaches problems and the ability to communicate with those mathematically inclined. In this statement, I outline the three steps that I see are important to achieving this goal and how it is realized in the classroom.
Download Teaching Statement (.PDF)
Sample Course Syllabus
This course syllabus serves as a representative of how I would design an introductory calculus course at the undergraduate level. This syllabus also serves as a complementary document to my teaching statement.
Download Sample Syllabus (.PDF)
Download Sample Schedule (.PDF)
Faculty Interview
I had the opportunity to sit down for an hour with a faculty member from the Math Department at Cornell University. I've worked with this professor to lead a team of several assistant professors and graduate students in teaching an introductory calculus course of 400+ students. I found this interview to be a memorable and enlightening experience.
Download Interview Summary (.PDF)
Reflections
"This class has helped me distill my experiences as an educator and refine my definition of an academic."
Throughout ALS6015 we were given opportunities to reflect on the session of the week. While I found the weekly reflections to be only slightly informative, the final reflection at the end of the course helped me realize the full scope of the course and its impact on my professional development.
Download Course Reflections (.PDF)