Experience Summary
I have over ten years of college teaching experience and have taught a wide range of subjects, including English composition, English as a second language, remedial English and reading, and creative writing. I earned tenure in 2006. My teaching has been recognized by VCC in 2006 when I was awarded the Academic Affairs Excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award and again in 2010 when I was awarded the NISOD Excellence in Teaching Award. I have ample tutoring experience, working as a Writing Center consultant at UNH, a literacy tutor for 7th grade students in NH, a Senior Instructional Assistant in the Communications Lab at VCC, and as a teaching assistant and an instructor of SAT preparation at Huntington Learning Center.
Teaching Style
I create a learning-centered environment that is a welcoming, comfortable, and encouraging place in which my students feel safe enough to explore and share their thoughts and observations of the world. I consistently communicate my interest in and enthusiasm for the course material by demonstrating the real-world application of the skills we are learning and by illustrating how much I respect and value my students’ thoughts and ideas. I believe the old authoritarian model of classroom teaching, in which the student is a passive receptacle, creates a threatening environment that allows for very little room for growth. I follow a more democratic approach to teaching that is participatory in nature and promotes active learning.