My teaching is perhaps (probably) the most important part of my life and my identity. Working with students and honing my craft occupies a large part of my time, my thinking, and my energy. And in case this wasn’t clear, I *LOVE* my work.

Read my teaching-related blog posts

Currently, I’m working on a book manuscript draft tentatively called The Present Professor. The goal of this writing project is to equip student-centered educators with the tools to cultivate greater self-knowledge and bring that into the classroom. Why? As Parker Palmer said in a recent conversation with Dr. Laura Rendón, “Education can never be whole if educators are not whole.” When we cannot bring our entire selves to our work, we become diseased … mentally, emotionally, and oftentimes physically.

Meanwhile, I’m always eager to talk about teaching with others interested in honing their craft. If you’re looking for a speaker or workshop facilitator, I’d love to chat! I’ve recently facilitated teaching workshops or given talks on these topics:

  • Heart-centered leadership
  • Teaching students, not content (“Stop blaming students!”)
  • Creating a faculty peer-mentoring program for online teaching
  • How to boost student learning and motivation with ungrading
  • Improving civic engagement with Wikipedia (service-learning in teaching)
  • TILT yo’self (TILT = transparency in learning & teaching)
  • Listener training for ‘sidewalk chats’ (spontaneous conversations with students)
  • 10 tips for student success (given before start of fall semester to new college students)
  • “I’m terrible at online classes!” Understanding your students’ fears
  • Student-centered syllabus design

Other talks I’ve given related to my disciplinary training in political science and political psychology include:

  • How to keep your sanity during …. interesting political times
  • Seven reasons our politics seem so polarized
  • Understanding whiteness
  • Iran, explained
  • North Korea, explained
  • Syria, explained
  • The Kurdish people
  • Civics 101 (each about 45-60 minutes):
    • Federal government
    • State government
    • Local government
    • Elections basics
    • Gerrymandering

NOTE: I’m expanding this section of my web site to include some of my favorite resources — both related to the content I teach and to the craft of teaching itself. Look for that … soon.