Teaching
The word 'education' comes from Latin, meaning 'to lead or draw out,' and this is is illustrative of my own approach to teaching. As an educator, I see myself taking on many different leadership styles--the servant, the visionary, the coach, the pacesetter--by which I hope to draw out the best in my students.
I have also taken a leaf out of my business school books and made myself the Chief Marketing Officer of my classes, always outlining my Five P's. As much as I (and most educators) cringe at the thought of education as a mere product, I think there is something that we can learn from the business world. Students are paying a Price by investing time, effort, and money in my course. So, I aim to give them an irreplaceable Product: a new way to read the news, different lenses for voting, a framework to evaluate a practical problem.
To encourage discussion, I set the tone for a Place, often playing a little music before things start--it promotes conversations before class by breaking the silence, and that can make talking later easier. What I teach is valuable! But, I know it's not always obvious what, in particular, is valuable or why, which is why I make an effort to Promote the importance of certain lessons and either repeat key information or encourage reflection on exploratory activities. Finally, nothing much ever happens anywhere without attention to relationships and individual needs. I prioritize People by getting to know my students beyond their graded work and by offering extra study sessions over coffee, at meals, and outside in an effort to make it more enjoyable and make asking for help less intimidating.
Summaries of the anonymous student reviews of the courses I have taught can be found here.
Sample Activities
1.
Ethics in the City
During summer session, class periods can feel long! As one way to add excitement and illustrate the importance of ethics in the real world, we took a field trip. I coordinated a meeting with the VP & Chief Compliance Officer in charge of ethics training for the Mount Sinai Hospital System and the Icahn Medical School. While downtown, we also took advantage of the visit of Jeremy Bentham's auto-icon and did a scavenger hunt to see the philosopher artworks on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
*Student faces have been masked for privacy in the last slide.
2.
Hands-On Final Exam
Testing in traditional ways is important, and I still do that. But, sometimes the material is too important to be crammed and dumped, as usually happens with traditional exams. That's why I began instituting an applied case study filled with ethical questions and practical concerns. The best way to see why the theories matter is to navigate the tensions that appear with things like budgets and laws. I modeled this after the Destination ImagiNation Instant Challenge and presented it at the 2020 APA Central Teaching Hub.
3.
Day of Philosophy for High School Students
I was a member of a committee that planned a special "Day of Philosophy" for local high school students. The 2019 theme was "Freedom," and I prepared and taught a lesson on my dissertation research--with a fun Disney twist!
4.
Role-Playing Debates
It is one thing to talk about doctor-patient-family dynamics in the abstract, but discussions do not always bring to life the genuine difficulties that emotions and external obligations can bring to ethical decision-making. Near Halloween, I created an activity that would allow my Issues of Life and Death class to take on the roles of those key players--ending with some treats parallel to the decision! (Building strong relationships in class with occasional down time is essential to having open discussions on tough issues!)
5.
Class Website
In the spring of 2020, we were forced into the online-only environment because of the spread of COVID-19. Given our new circumstances, the students elected to structure the remainder of the semester around the construction of a website that would be reminiscent of The Hastings Center site. I designed the site, and they shared their final research papers, a Fordham mission-oriented blog post on Ignatian ethics, and a team-written blog post on informed consent.
*Research and blog pages, which include names and images, are not featured in the video to protect student privacy.
Learning Aids
I designed each file and activity to various degrees. The bioethics syllabus is based around topics and activity categories in a pre-approved curriculum, then customized to my expertise, along with my original twists on approved activities and my own graphic design. The rubric is my version of standard requirements and competencies. Other activities and designs are entirely my own. Click the images to see the files.
Syllabus
I aim to make syllabi easy to navigate and visually appealing. This is my most recent bioethics syllabus.
Writing Circles
Writing argumentative papers and undergoing a process of revision is a core requirement of my courses. Teams make it easier and more fun.
Final Challenge
During finals season, students cram and then dump. I want them to remember my material, though, so it's hands-on and team-based.
Debates
Healthy debates are civilized. These are mandatory activities in all of my courses. Topics are always hot issues.
Theatrical Debate
Not all debates are traditional. When the topics start to feel abstract, we role play, as in this proxy care case.
Paper Rubric
Students should know what I expect when I grade, so I make use of rubrics. This is for a short paper in the freshman-level class.