My evolution into a college instructor began 15 years ago. Beginning as a high school tutor and moving into substitute teaching, and finally full-time teaching at the secondary level, I tiptoed into the teaching profession. The transformation happened so slowly that it was years before I realized that I was answering a calling, that I was won over and gratified by the pedagogical experience.

Toward the end of my middle school teaching career, I started to notice that though I still felt called to teach, I no longer wanted to be part of the secondary public school system. With more demands on my time that took my attention further from creating lessons that ignited student curiosity, I started thinking of my next step. The solution seemed clear. I’d continue to teach, but at the college level. I was awarded a teaching assistantship at Georgia State University, an assistantship that allowed me to be the instructor of record while earning my MA. It was a perfect fit and I couldn’t have been happier.

I walked into my first day of teaching college feeling confident and excited about the new challenge before me. While I wasn’t sure what to expect of my students, I was fairly certain that if I could manage to be myself and let the students see my sincerity and genuine concern for their learning, that I would be able to connect with them. In a nutshell, the personal qualities that I most want my students to see in me are my sense of fun, engagement, and intellectual curiosity regarding the course content. My philosophy is that if the students can see my passion and curiosity at work in the classroom, it will capture their attention and promote their engagement with the content, thus leading to greater learning outcomes. Additionally, I strive to connect with every student and to make each one feels secure and confident that their contributions and viewpoints are valuable and respected.

To achieve these dual objectives, I prepare extensively for each lesson, curating examples from popular culture that students will be able to relate to. For example, in teaching Interpersonal Communication, I might pull a clip from the television show The Big Bang Theory to illustrate social exchange theory. In this way, students can participate in the lecture by recognizing the utility of applying academic theory to everyday life. I want the material to be accessible and applicable to the students’ lives. In a lecture on nonverbal communication, I might show a clip from Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk on power posing, illustrating the mind/body connection that results from the body’s posture. And then I ask the students to assume the power pose for themselves to test out Cuddy’s theory. It is my hope that, in addition to instilling a lifelong love of learning, students will leave class with practical knowledge that will improve their life on a daily basis. Some of my most rewarding moments come weeks after a topic was covered when students approach me with an anecdote about how they’ve seen the topic play out in their own lives since our lecture. Achieving both short-term and long-ranging impact drives me to prepare memorable lessons.

While clips and pop culture references are helpful teaching aids, they are just ice breakers and jumping off points for class conversation. In a typical lecture, I like to infuse these concrete references as a way to generate a common framework, but this is just the beginning. Once students see an example, they are more apt to open up by sharing their own experiences and thoughts. I also share examples from my own life when appropriate to make students feel safe sharing theirs as well. I want each student to leave my class feeling that they have had an equal opportunity to participate in class discussion and to feel that their input is valued and important.

Fostering an environment in which all students feel safe to share is especially important to me. While teaching at Georgia State University, I’ve become keenly aware of the vast disparity of background knowledge and learning tools that students bring with them to class. Because of differences in life experience, including how well a student’s high school education has prepared him/her for college, I’m particularly sensitive to students who may feel shy or too intimidated to share their experiences and I work hard to engage with them aside from large group discussions. In particular, when students work together on small group assignments, I circulate around the room and particularly seek out conversations with students who don’t contribute to the broader discussion. In this way, the student doesn’t feel singled out, but does feel that his/her presence and contributions are important.

In general, I’d like to be remembered by my students for making their time in my class meaningful and memorable, a place where all voices are honored and acknowledged. I’d like to be remembered for keeping discussions fresh, fun, lively, and useful. My hope is that each student will reflect, grow, and remain curious.

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