Teaching Philosophy#
My approach to teaching is shaped by a simple conviction: I want to train practitioners who can appreciate the intricacies of the world outside the classroom and engage with it in imaginative and meaningful ways. An experience I carry with me is from a student in an introductory world geography course who took a lesson on Central Asia and applied it analytically to a photograph in his textbook — pointing out Soviet architecture alongside Coca-Cola and LG logos as evidence of multiple developmental pressures. That moment of a student making independent connections is what I am always working toward.
Coming from an interdisciplinary background, I believe in blurring disciplinary boundaries — leaving students free to pursue solutions driven by the nature of the problem rather than the nature of the discipline. In discussion, I frequently pose two questions: what are the assumptions underlying this work, and what is missing? I endeavor to create an inclusive classroom where contrary opinions are not merely tolerated but actively encouraged, because it is only through such debate that we push intellectual boundaries and engage with the inherent complexities of the world.
As Instructor#
GEOG 101: World Geography
Cornell Prison Education Program, Cayuga Community College · Fall 2021, Spring 2022
An introductory course on world geography for incarcerated students earning an associate’s degree through Cornell’s Prison Education Program. The course covered major geographic regions, contemporary global challenges, and the political, economic, and cultural forces shaping them. Assessment included two prelims, a final exam, and five perspective pieces — short opinion essays in a journalistic style responding to prompts drawn from current events and course themes.
Syllabus · Perspective Pieces · Prelims
As Teaching Assistant#
Cornell University
- COMM 3200: New Media and Society · Spring 2022
- STS 3011: Life Sciences and Society · Fall 2021
- CRP 5250: Introduction to Planning Methods · Spring 2019, Spring 2021
- CRP 5130: Introduction to Planning Practice and History · Fall 2020
- CRP 6330: Methods of Regional Science and Planning II · Spring 2020
- CRP 5190: Urban Theory · Fall 2019
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- UP 316: Planning Analysis · Spring 2013
- MCB 251: Experimental Techniques in Molecular Biology · Fall 2013
Workshops and Service#
- Center for Teaching Innovation Graduate Teaching Fellow, Cornell University, 2021–22. Facilitated the GET SET workshop series for graduate teaching assistants across the university.
- Diversity and Inclusion Analysis, Global Planning Education Committee, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, 2021.