CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
AND DESIGNSELECt course development examples
This section showcases courses I've developed to challenge students, spark curiosity, and prepare them for academic and professional success. Each course reflects my commitment to creating meaningful learning experiences in higher education.
A Bit About My PHILoSOPHY
My views on pedagogy have changed a lot since I taught my first class as a teaching assistant at Penn State. Over the years, I’ve come to think of my role as a teacher as that of a curator of ideas. Just like a museum curator scours the art world, selects the finest works, gathers them together around a unified theme, provides a frame to understand the artists’ messages and then hosts a conversation around the collection, so the 21st century teacher must comb through an overabundance of information to discover the significant and relevant, bundle those ideas into course modules, contextualize them for the class and then create an environment for students to explore those ideas and enter into a conversation about them. And just like curators need to be passionate about what they do, so an educator needs to be driven by a love for his or her profession. After all, the ultimate goal is to arouse students’ intellectual curiosity by modeling how to discover, acquire and critically evaluate information. In essence, it’s about teaching students to become curators themselves.
SELECT PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT EXAMPLES
This section showcases my vision for transformative education at the program level. From crafting a dynamic visual concentration for Communication majors to reimagining our university's general education curriculum, each initiative reflects my dedication to meaningful academic innovation. I'm particularly proud of developing a grant-funded faculty development program that empowers educators to excel in their craft – because when faculty thrive, students soar.
The impact of Technology on my pedagogical Approaches
My relationship to technology has deeply influenced my approach to teaching and curriculum development. In order to help my students learn, I first had to figure out how I learn. The answer to that question didn’t just crystallize one day. In fact, I don’t think I ever intentionally set out to answer it. Regardless of intent, I slowly realized that most of my professional development occurs through daily interactions with what I call my personal learning network - the vast network of colleagues and professionals on the social web with whom I share ideas and resources. Although I’ve never met most of the people in that network, they are people I learn from every day and who hopefully learn from me. This understanding of how I learn, in turn, allows me to model learning to my students. My goal is to help students develop independent learning skills by teaching them how to use social media tools to create a personal learning network capable of supporting their own learning needs. I truly believe that if we are to prepare students for an unpredictable world and jobs that probably haven’t even been invented yet, teaching them how to direct their own learning is one of the most important skills we can share with them.
Select industry workshops & Training Materials
This section showcases my expertise in crafting dynamic learning experiences beyond academia. Through collaborations with industry leaders and nonprofit organizations, I've developed targeted workshops and training materials that bridge theory and practice. Each program reflects my commitment to creating engaging, results-driven learning solutions that empower professionals to excel in their roles and drive organizational success.
CERTFICATES
My commitment to educational excellence is matched by my dedication to life-long learning. This collection of certificates in advanced pedagogy and research methodologies reflects my belief that great educators never stop growing. By constantly expanding my own expertise, I bring fresh insights and evidence-based practices to every course I develop and every student I serve.
