By Jes Heppler, Philosophy Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 The problem of getting students to feel comfortable enough to speak about high-stakes topics is not new. Nevertheless, in an era where social media can build or destroy a reputation, many students who are just beginning their adult lives are keenly Continue Reading >>
By Joshua Freed, Political Science Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 Two terms ago, I reflected on the structure of my communication with students. I realized that my students fell into three categories. First, there were the actively engaged students who felt comfortable coming to office hours or exchanging emails regardless Continue Reading >>
By Douglas Van, Political Science Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 The history of political thought is enigmatic. Studying ideas well requires students to take seriously the beliefs and moral commitments of persons from radically different contexts from one another and from themselves. In a survey course like Democracy: Ancient and Continue Reading >>
By Meg Everett, Berkeley School of Education Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 Washed in sunlight and seated in a bright room, the man smiles sanguinely at the camera and describes GPT-4 as a simple tool that solves real human needs. “The obvious one where these systems have incredible potential is Continue Reading >>
By Valentín Sierra, Social Welfare Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 In our current educational system, colonialism is often overlooked or dismissed, perpetuating the marginalization of Indigenous peoples and their knowledge, while simultaneously reinforcing colonialism’s power over their lives. Colonialism is detrimental for all learners, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, as it perpetuates Continue Reading >>
By Ryan Gourley, Music Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 Teaching the history of recorded sound poses a unique set of challenges. Class discussions involve technologies and recordings that have fallen into obscurity. Photos and diagrams do little to convey the feeling of operating devices such as a phonograph or a Continue Reading >>
By Nancy Freitas, Energy and Resources Group Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 Figuring out how to fund your research and education as a graduate student is a daunting task. Most of us know that writing for grants and fellowships can help defray these costs, but learning how to navigate applications, Continue Reading >>
By Salvador Gutierrez Peraza, Ethnic Studies Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 As a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) in the Department of Ethnic Studies part and parcel of my pedagogical training is the teaching of courses on the Ethno-Racial experience of U.S. minoritarian subjects and cultures. Our discipline entails “the critical Continue Reading >>
By Kyra Sutton, Rhetoric Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 As a rhetoric instructor, I have found that undergraduates enter my courses having learned to subdue their feelings about academic texts. Whether they like the text, they have learned in high school, is beside the point; they are here to analyze Continue Reading >>
By Morgan Jennings, Film & Media Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2023 In my Film R1B course we examine what monsters and representations of monsters in film and television reveal about the cultures that create and consume them. By looking closely at the various forms in which monstrosity appears on screen, Continue Reading >>