Experience Summary
The Psychology Ph.D. program at UNH has the goal of producing educators, and accordingly includes a teaching practicum consisting of two semesters of seminars in educational methods, plus 4 semesters of critically reviewed, undergraduate college teaching. I taught 2 semesters of Introductory Psychology and 2 advanced courses.
At the time, undergraduates were notably lacking in writing and composition skills, and most instructors found themselves tutoring these skills on an individual basis, simply because the students needed it.
I have a good deal of actual writing experience, primarily of scientific papers and reports, grant proposals, technical documentation, and instructional and marketing materials.
Teaching Style
My teaching style evolved to be well-structured but informal and entertaining. I am a comfortable and natural speaker and have had little trouble engaging the majority of students to be active participants in the classroom. However, my approach to the material is flexible and will vary considerably with the subject.
In tutoring, I tailor the approach to the student, and attempt to achieve an active learning environment by engaging the interest of the student. For instance, in teaching writing and composition, this can be accomplished by letting the students play a role in choosing the subject material.