Combining Teaching and Research
During my sophomore year of college I was required to take a political science research methods class. We read M.Kent Jennings' "Residues of a Movement: the Aging of the American Protest Generation " to learn about panel survey research, Bischoping and Schuman's "Pens and Polls in Nicaragua: An Analysis of the 1990 Preelection Surveys" to understand field experiments, and excerpts from Kristina Luker's Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood to understand the power of in-depth interviews. The final requirement of the class was our own research project. During that class I fell in love with conducting empirical research to find answers to questions I had about gender and politics. That experience set me on a career path and shapes my approach to both teaching and research.
While some might consider teaching and research two different parts of our job, I find that they are highly intertwined. My classes are designed around research. Too often I feel there is a disconnect between what is taught in political science classes and what we do as political science researchers. As a result, my upper division classes read and engage in scholarly research. In-class projects and paper assignments are designed to teach students the critical thinking skills necessary to engage in research. For example, when I teach public opinion students conduct a variety of data analysis assignments throughout the semester using the American National Election Studies and General Social Survey (via the SDA website). My desire is to equip students with the skills they need to start to answer their own questions about the U.S. political system.
Not only does research influence my perspective on teaching, my experiences in the classroom and working with students also benefit my research. My students allow me to look at research questions through a different set of eyes, motivate new research questions, and reinforce my understanding of the fundamentals of political science.
I also enjoy working one-on-one with students outside the classroom on their own research projects. I benefited greatly from research mentors in undergraduate and graduate school and I now thoroughly enjoy being a research mentor to other students. I have worked with students on a wide variety of projects related to both public opinion and gender and politics.
While some might consider teaching and research two different parts of our job, I find that they are highly intertwined. My classes are designed around research. Too often I feel there is a disconnect between what is taught in political science classes and what we do as political science researchers. As a result, my upper division classes read and engage in scholarly research. In-class projects and paper assignments are designed to teach students the critical thinking skills necessary to engage in research. For example, when I teach public opinion students conduct a variety of data analysis assignments throughout the semester using the American National Election Studies and General Social Survey (via the SDA website). My desire is to equip students with the skills they need to start to answer their own questions about the U.S. political system.
Not only does research influence my perspective on teaching, my experiences in the classroom and working with students also benefit my research. My students allow me to look at research questions through a different set of eyes, motivate new research questions, and reinforce my understanding of the fundamentals of political science.
I also enjoy working one-on-one with students outside the classroom on their own research projects. I benefited greatly from research mentors in undergraduate and graduate school and I now thoroughly enjoy being a research mentor to other students. I have worked with students on a wide variety of projects related to both public opinion and gender and politics.
Recent Syllabi
Undergraduate
Graduate
- American politics & Gender (Appalchian State University, Spring 2022)
- Political Psychology (Appalchian State University, Spring 2022)
- Public Opinion (Appalachian State University, Fall 2021)
- Politics of Inequality (Appalachian State University, Honors, Fall 2021)
- Voting, Campaigns, and Elections (Appalachian State University, Spring 2021)
- Introduction to U.S. National Government & Politics (Appalchian State University, Spring 2021)
- Political Participation and Civic Engagement (Appalachian State University, Spring 2020)
- Introduction to U.S. National Politics (College of Wooster, Spring 2018)
- Women, Power, and Politics (College of Wooster, Spring 2018)
- Politics of Inequality (College of Wooster, Fall 2018)
- Political Participation and Civic Engagement (College of Wooster, Fall 2018)
Graduate