Courses Taught Independently
Introduction to American National Government
Introduction to American Political Process
Introduction to Political Science
Public Administration
Congress and the Presidency
Congress and the Legislative Process
Politics, Persuasion, and Public Opinion
Seminar: Federalists and Anti-Federalists (Interim)
Political Argument and Reasoning (Team Taught)
TA'd Courses
Introduction to American National Government
Federalism
State and Local Politics
Judicial Process
Summary of Independent Teaching Experience
Hamilton College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 2005 to present
- Congress and the Presidency (Fall 2005) - Because it was added to the schedule late, I was able to run this course as a six student seminar. Though I feared that the small size of the class would limit the effectiveness of the congressional committee simulation at the end of the semester, the students did a great job of connecting to the course material and asking faculty and staff "witnesses"good questions during the simulation hearings. Because it was a writing intensive class, the small size made it easier for me to provide students with lots of feedback on their papers and written assignments. One thing that worked well in this class was the way the assignments built on one another and helped students engage the course materials and prepare the simulation at the same time.
- Introduction to American Political Process (Fall 2005 and Spring 2006) - In terms of student enrollment, these were one of the largest courses that I have taught during my career. Though there were approximately 45 students in each of these courses, class participation was not a problem. By incorporating a number of fun and interesting small group exercises (including "Schattschneider Soccer," Lost" and "Saved by the Bell/Gilligan's Island"), I was able to help the students make connections to the course material and make students comfortable speaking up in class. The last few weeks of the semester, students are required to write a 10 page paper on a controversial political issue and participate in one of a series of in-class Oxford Style group debates. Based on my experiences in other classes, I believe that the prospect of debates led students to spend more time on their papers, leading to higher quality papers in general, and stronger, more concise arguments. The vast majority of the students in these courses were first or second years and a large number expressed a strong interest in becoming government majors as a result of this course. The second time I taught the course, I was able to strengthen the reading list (for instance, replacing textbook readings on the founding with a short book by Gordon Wood on the American Revolution). In addition, I eliminated the multiple choice section on the midterm because I did not believe it was serving as an accurate gauge of student learning. In the future, I would like to use a more concise textbook in the future (I have had success with one of Tom Patterson's textbooks in the past).
- Parties and Elections (Spring 2006) - This was another large class of approximately 40 students. Most of the students in this course were juniors and seniors. I deviated somewhat from my usual approach of short, competing readings in favor of longer, more difficult readings and books. The class had a very difficult time with the Aldrich and Mayhew readings; still, I think we were able to salvage some good class discussions on the books (I generally devoted a week and a half to each book). After Aldrich and Mayhew, class participation picked up quite a bit and the students became more engaged and more willing to challenge the authors' ideas. The low point in the semester was the three class periods set aside for student paper presentations. We did it in panel format and kept each presentation short, but the number of students in the course made this a really bad idea and in the future, I will probably avoid paper presentations in larger classes. At least one of the papers asked students to consider how political institutions shaped political conflict. I found that the students who took the time to come into office hours and those who went beyond the course syllabus and read a section from Skocpol's Protecting Soldiers and Mothers, had a much stronger sense of institutions in their papers. In the future, I will probably make that section of Skocpol a requirement. The highlight of this course was the successful multi-course simulation in which the students for parties and elections served as the "electorate" for a simulated state assembly primary election. Students responded very positively to this assignment.
- Politics, Persuasion, and Public Opinion (Spring 2006) - I designed this course myself with the idea that it would be good to have a course that focused explicitly on the practice of politics and political communication. Course readings and materials introduced students to campaign narratives, the use of words and language to shape political views, campaign strategy and the basics of writing speeches and press releases. The second half of this course was dominated by a multi-class simulation in which students from this course broke into groups and ran competing campaigns for a simulated state legislative primary. This was by far the most extensive simulation that I have ever conducted, but the class and simulation were very well-organized, and the course materials, lectures, and assignments helped ensure that students were well prepared for the simulation. I received very positive student feedback and decided to offer it again in the Fall due to the high level of student interest in this course.
Nazarath College, Adjunct Instructor, Fall 2005 to Spring 2006
I taught two evening courses for Nazareth, including Introduction to Public Administration and Introduction to Political Science.
- Introduction to Political Science (Fall 2005) - This course was organized loosely around the American Political Process course that I taught at Hamilton College (the difference being that course readings and lectures took a more comparative and institutional approach to the study of politics. It was a successful class and the Oxford-Style student debates were well received. In the future, I think I would add additional lectures on the scientific method, data collection and analysis.
- Public Administration (Spring 2006) - According to the students, this was a very challenging course. One reason student's thought it was difficult is that they had a hard time getting through the readings from Shafritz and Hyde's Classics of Public Administration. Though I will continue to use this book in the future (I think it would be difficult to find a better source on the discipline in terms of the number and breadth of the reading), I will probably shift the weight of reading assignments in favor of outside readings and more practical examples and limit the number of Classics readings to one or two a week. I would also avoid teaching Public Administration in one three-hour class. I think the material could be more effectively presented in a larger number of shorter class periods. Though the material was difficult, I think students did end up getting a great deal out of the course and at least one student told me that she was going to pursue an MPA after graduation. I had a number of guest speakers during the course of the semester, including the former Mayor of Rochester, the regional director of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and the head of the blue-ribbon commission that issued a report on Monroe County's financial situation. The guest speakers really helped the students connect the course material to the real world and provided students with a needed change of pace during the three-hour class. The student paper presentations in the final week were a good way to end the semester and the relatively small size of the class (13) made it possible to generate a good amount of discussion on each paper.
Monroe Community College, Adjunct Instructor, Introduction to Political Science, two sections, Fall 2001
I developed the course syllabus, readings, lectures, tests and assignments. The focus was on giving students a broad overview of government institutions and introducing students to a number of prominent policy debates.
Syracuse University, Instructor, Introduction to American National Government, Fall 2000
This was a night course taught through Syracuse University’s University College. I developed the course syllabus, lectures, tests and assignments independently. About one-half of the students were traditional S.U. students and the other one-half were part-time night students. Again, the course theme was politics as a conversation about how we want to live. Course assignments required students to think about the role and responsibilities of citizens in the political system.
Syracuse University, Instructor, Congress and the Legislative Process, Summer 2000
This was a two-week intensive summer course where I taught independently under the guidance of a faculty mentor (professor Kristi Andersen) in fulfillment of the requirements for a Certificate in University Teaching from Syracuse University. I developed the course syllabus, lectures, tests and assignments independently. I integrated a “Virtual Congressional Internship” into the course, incorporating the research and writing responsibilities of a congressional staff into a more traditional congressional simulation.
Monroe Community College, Adjunct Instructor, Introduction to Political Science, two sections, Spring 2000
I designed this course to give students an introduction to the study of politics and to emphasize that politics touches our lives in many ways. I developed the course syllabus, readings, lectures, tests and assignments independently. There were approximately 40 students in the course. The course theme is that "politics is a conversation about how we want to live." The course theme draws from my experiences as a Teaching Associate for Dr. James Josefsen at Syracuse University. In order to emphasize that point and encourage students to participate in the "conversation" that is politics, I required students to keep a journal in which they comment on the political issues and questions that interest them. As a class, we developed an exit poll and surveyed voters in the March 7, 2000 primary. We then used the results of the poll to assess political relationships and consider some of the concerns faced by social scientists in conducting and evaluating observations of the political world. I also created a Friday lecture series so students could engage in a dialogue with those who chose politics as a career. The lecture series included hour long discussions with a journalist, county government officials, campaign consultants, lobbyists, and former congressional aides.
Monroe Community College, Adjunct Instructor, American National Government, one section, Fall 1999
This course was my first experience independently teaching an entire course. I developed the course syllabus, readings, lectures, tests and assignments. There were approximately 30 students in the course. I focused on giving students a broad overview of government institutions and introducing students to a number of prominent policy debates. In the final two weeks of the course, I conducted an extended simulation that gave students the opportunity to draft, consider and vote on a comprehensive crime control bill. Students also acted as congressional (or presidential) aides during the simulation, writing constituent letters, speeches and press releases.
Summary of Team and Interim Teaching
Syracuse University, Teaching Associate, Political Argument and Reasoning, team-taught, Spring 2000
This was a team taught course. I served as the primary instructor for one section of 25 students that meets two times per week. Once every two to three weeks, all four sections of the course meet together in a single plenary session. The course, which was required for all political science majors, focused on strengthening students’ analytical skills and reasoning. Although the instructor and teaching associates shared a single course syllabus designed by the instructor, teaching associates were responsible for their own course policies, lectures, assignments, tests and grading.
SUNY Oswego, Interim Instructor, Seminar: Federalists and Anti-Federalists, Spring 1998
I taught this seminar on an interim basis (5-weeks), filling in for a faculty member who became seriously ill mid-semester. With extremely short notice, I developed my own schedule of readings for the course. As a seminar course, it was kept small (9 students) and I assigned a weekly response paper to promote engagement of the readings and facilitate debate between the students. The assigned instructor recovered from his illness toward the end of the semester and returned to complete the course.
Summary of Teaching Assistant/Teaching Associate Experience
I have seven semesters of experience as a Teaching Assistant or Teaching Associate for the Department of Political Science at Syracuse University. As a Teaching Assistant, I assisted faculty members in the development of course materials, tests and assignments as well as grading. My lecture and discussion section responsibilities varied from course to course. In addition to these duties, as a Teaching Associate I helped coordinate and implement a series of professional development seminars for graduate students and faculty members. A brief summary of my duties in each course is described below.
Syracuse University, PSC 121, American Nat’l Gov’t & Politics (Fall 1997, Spring 1998, Fall 1998, Fall 1999)
Although my duties differed somewhat depending on the instructor, in each course I was responsible for the development of weekly lectures/discussion for 2 sections of 25 students. I developed assignments, quizzes and supplementary readings for my sections and - in Fall 1999 - created a home page for the course. Each semester, I also volunteered to give a lecture to the entire class (approximately 150 students) on congressional politics or campaign finance.
Syracuse University, PSC 303, Federalism, State and Local Politics, Spring 1999
I was responsible for grading tests, quizzes and other assignments for two courses, totaling about 100 students. I filled in for one week of lectures for the instructor and supervised the state legislature simulation in the State and Local Politics course.
Syracuse University, PSC 302, Judicial Process (Spring 1992)
I assisted in the development of tests and assignments and was solely responsible for grading in this upper-level course.
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