Teaching Philosophy Statement
My Role as an Instructor
I have taught for and plan to teach international relations (IR) courses from the introductory to the graduate level. Courses I have taught for in the past include an introductory level undergraduate course on ‘Introduction to Political Science’, an upper-level undergraduate course on ‘Politics of Developing Countries’, and an upper-level undergraduate course on ‘Theories of War’. The syllabi for these courses may be found on the toolbar to the right.
I find that students learn best by engaging in active discussion. Thus, I see course readings and material as a stepping stone, rather than an end-all in students’ learning. The central goal in teaching courses in political science is to move beyond coffee table ‘chit-chat’ on political events by emphasizing that politics may be analyzed from a theoretical perspective. In that light, my teaching revolves around emphasizing the science in ‘political science’. However, while focusing on the specifics of the discipline, my approach to teaching also seeks to leave students with a broader sense of doing research in the social sciences.
My teaching philosophy may then be summed up by the notion that students learn best by linking what they read in the foreign affairs section of newspapers to theoretical concepts, and by combining individual reading-time with active debate and discussion.
My philosophy of teaching recognizes that given the same material, there can be multiple ways to tread it. My role as an instructor may be most accurately defined as a guide. Lastly, the closest analogy I have to my role as an instructor is that of a guide. Especially because I recognize that there are multiple ways to teach a topic, I see myself as a guide who points to the different techniques and pathways of learning to students and lets them choose the optimal way to complete the journey.
Teaching Goals
In accordance with my teaching philosophy, I set out to teach by setting goals. These goals not only guide my teaching by providing self-evaluative goal-posts but also enable me to formulate clear expectations for my students. Consonant with my approach to the discipline, I expect students to learn both what politics is about and I also seek to acquaint students with methodological skills. Some of the goals common to different courses I’ve taught for are
Conceptual/Factual Goals
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Be familiar with current international affairs and be able to critically analyze these events.
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Be able to link the foreign affairs sections of newspapers to theories of International Relations.
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Be cognizant of and able to evaluate the processes of change in world politics.
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Given a specific topic, be able to compare and contrast different arguments covered in course readings.
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Assess the impact of system-level, domestic-level, and individual-level factors in international affairs.
Methodological Skills
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Understand what the distinctions in different methodological approaches in the field are.
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Be able to evaluate arguments based on the research design and be able to understand the fit between design and conceptual argument.
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Use evidence and citation to develop a concise and compelling argument.
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Be able to formulate questions for future research and pick methodological tools that might be best appropriate for the research question.
Teaching Methods
As outlined above, my role as an instructor is akin to a guide. This role necessitates corresponding teaching methods. My teaching style stands on three pillars: lecturing, discussing and interacting, and evaluating. Lecturing often involves dissemination of information by giving lectures that summarize and highlight key points in class readings and handouts and supplementary materials to clarify points made during lecture. Discussing and interacting encompasses a variety of activities, the context of which depend on class content and goals. They may involve discussion in groups, group projects, or simulations of key concepts. In some classes, I provide students with discussion questions ahead of time; these questions may also be interpreted as an outline that guides students as they complete class readings. A good example to the use of group projects is a simulation I helped organize for International Security. The UN simulation involved close student-instructor cooperation where students worked in groups and acted as delegations and instructors acted as heads of state. Readers who are interested in the simulation may read the simulation instructions pdf and the sample head of state memo that instructors wrote for their respective delegations prior to the simulation. Lastly, evaluation involves more traditional in-class and take-home exams, quizzes, papers/essays. Most importantly, my role as a guide necessitates that I provide students with clear expectations and adequate feedback. I've found that providing students with a grading rubric is an effective way to communicate expectations. In addition, providing feedback helps students learn from what was lacking in their essays or exams and to improve on their performance.
