Teaching Philosophy
While I strive for my research to affect public policy and academic discourse, my greatest professional impact on the world will likely be the thousands of students that come through my classroom.
As a teacher, I have two overarching goals for my students. First and foremost, I want them to learn about the subject matter at hand: politics. Knowledge about politics will make my students more informed voters and citizens, as well as help prepare them for a career in politics if they choose that path. My second goal is for my students to develop their more general skillsets. Although I believe specific knowledge about politics is useful, helping students develop their more reading, writing, speaking, researching, and thinking skills is equally important, as these will be helpful for my students no matter what profession they pursue.
To achieve these goals, I generally follow a four-step process:
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Motivate Students to Want to Learn: If students believe a topic is interesting and important, then I have found they will put more effort into learning and retain more information. One effective method of motivating a topic is to connect it to current events early on in a discussion, as this lets students know that a particular topic or theory is relevant to their world and not just to history. To this end, I often begin recitation by showing a short news clip, excerpt from a movie (e.g., James Bond), or music video (e.g., Hamilton).
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Explain the Logic of Theories: It’s one thing to memorize that some liberal international relations theorists argue that trade relations between states reduce the chances of war, but quite another to understand why liberals believe this to be the case. Understanding the explanations behind theories or concepts should allow students to better critique them and apply their logic to different scenarios, as well as build their critical thinking skills. I therefore make sure to clearly explain the logic of concepts myself when lecturing, and emphasize on assessments that I want students to explain a concept as if they were describing it to someone who was not taking the class.
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Connect Theory and Evidence: No matter what profession students end up pursuing, it’s critical they evaluate theoretical arguments by examining the available evidence. While many political science courses assume that students have the requisite historical knowledge to understand key applications of a theory, I try and provide my students with resources in case they are not familiar with a key historical event. For example, during a week where we discussed different theories explaining the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis, I showed my students a CNN documentary on the Crisis to ensure that they understood how the theories and evidence connected.
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Critique Theories: In order to build students’ critical thinking skills, it’s important that they consider the weaknesses of a theory. And not just whether the theory is “right’ or “wrong,” but also under what conditions a theory is most and least likely to hold. To facilitate this, I first work to build the toolbox students have to effectively analyze a theory. In order to critique a concept, you need to be able to ask the right questions: Are the concepts clearly defined? Is the claim falsifiable? Are there alternative explanations or omitted variables? What level of analysis is the theory operating at? I also require my students to acknowledge counter-arguments to their thesis and respond to it when writing argumentative essays. This requirement forces students to engage with different perspectives and leads to better developed arguments.
Teaching Experience
International Security
Teaching Assistant, Instructor: Avery Goldstein
Introduction to International Relations
Teaching Assistant, Instructor: Edward Mansfield
American Foreign Policy
Teaching Assistant, Instructor: Dominic Tierney
International Political Economy
Teaching Assistant, Instructor: Mark Pollack