As a first-generation college student and a person with a disability who earned a Ph.D., I believe that access and opportunity can coincide with high expectations and academic excellence. As an educator, it is crucial to assist learners as they work to identify and mobilize resources that can aid in their success and promote learning, development, and well-being.
Approaches to learning and development inform the actions I take to support these beliefs. They guide the instructional strategies and learning activities I use to facilitate learning. I have applied these beliefs to the graduate and undergraduate courses I have taught and the tutor training and development workshops I have led.
Approach to Learning and Development
My personal and professional experiences and educational and salutogenic perspectives inform my approach to learning and development. From an educational perspective, challenge, support, and readiness are necessary for active learning, experiential education, and conversational learning. From a salutogenic perspective, learning experiences should be meaningful, manageable, and comprehensible. A salutogenic learning environment is one in which learners believe (a) they are engaging in an experience that is purposeful and worthy of their time investment; (b) they have the skills, resources, and support they need to achieve their desired outcome; and (c) they can understand and have confidence in their ability to achieve the desired result.
The concepts of salutogenesis align well with Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) principles (e.g., simple and intuitive, perceptible information), while developmental and engaged educational practice aligns with other UDI principles (e.g., tolerance for error, a community of learners, and instructional climate) and the concepts of significant learning.
Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities
I use instructional strategies and learning activities that align with these perspectives and frameworks to promote desired student outcomes in my classes. These strategies and activities include lecturette, individual reflection and explanation, peer conversation, and formative feedback.
- I aim to provide students with sufficient information and resources to engage with, apply, and learn the course content.
- I purposefully design low-stakes opportunities for students to explain their understanding, engage with others, and receive constructive feedback.
- I provide students with formative feedback on written assignments and allow them to revise and resubmit them to model the peer-review process.
- I pair indirect and direct measures of student learning to understand student learning and adapt my facilitation accordingly.
I believe learning experiences should be developmental. These strategies and activities create a space for learning with less fear of making mistakes. Written assignments with the opportunity for feedback and revision allow students to process the course content and meet assignment expectations—they allow students to correct errors and further their understanding.
In my experience—within and outside the classroom—the developmental structure encourages significant learning. The structure allows learners to continue to process foundational knowledge, recognize the applications in practical situations, and integrate that knowledge to make connections in different settings. Although there can be opposition from students when introducing these approaches, I often receive informal feedback and formal evaluations that support my approaches’ effectiveness.
Framing Inclusive Excellence
Excellence in diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion includes, but is not limited to,
- acknowledging the complexity and limiting aspects of our past;
- creating a welcoming environment through dignity, respect, appreciation, and equity;
- fostering a sense of belonging, safety, and community among all members;
- identifying and employing intentional strategies to dismantle oppressive structures and reduce biases that negatively affect historically underrepresented groups;
- minimizing prejudice and ethnocentrism by respecting and honoring the social and cultural traditions of individuals and groups;
- equipping our community to engage in controversy with civility by acknowledging that empathy does not mean endorsement;
- accepting that success depends on recognizing, embracing, and valuing the perspectives and traditions of our community and its members; and
- understanding that this work is ongoing—as society changes, so must we re-examine our commitments, actions, and outcomes.
Committing to Engagement and Education
Diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are not limited to access, awareness, and composition—these efforts must include discourse, stewardship, action, and change. Institutions and leaders must support these efforts through communication, action, and resources (e.g., human, physical, financial) that enhance student and organizational learning and the intellectual and social development of the community members.
Engaging with diversity promotes intrapersonal and interpersonal development. Meaningful engagement is a way to better understand oneself and those around one. To engage with diversity, in any form, does not mean that one must assimilate. Community members can engage with differences and feel a sense of belonging. Through dual socialization and academic biculturalism processes, a person can be successful in their current cultural environment while not disconnecting from or rejecting their home culture.
Diverse composition and settings—that include purposeful planning and thoughtful execution—can promote inclusive environments and equitable experiences. As organizations of teaching, learning, and development, colleges and universities must create environments that can respond to the changing demographics across the country and the world. We can only be effective if we integrate cognitive, affective, and behavioral teaching, learning, and development components into our educational experiences.
Educational Research and Inquiry
Inquiry—broadly defined to encompass the action and interactions of assessment, evaluation, and research—is an intentional process that supports solving problems, making decisions, and producing knowledge. I seek opportunities that allow me to (a) provide learning experiences for students; (b) promote teaching, learning, development, and institutional effectiveness; and (c) publish and present issues that advance research and practice.
I have successfully engaged at national conferences and with national and international organizations (e.g., AAC&U, ACPA, AIR, ASHE, BTtoP, IARSLCE, NAFSA, NAPSA). My work aligns with the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), and I plan to continue engaging with the organization and its community.
Scholarly and Professional Interests
My scholarly and professional interests broadly focus on identifying and mobilizing resources to promote success and enhance human potential. I engage these interests through foci on
- college students’ experiences and outcomes (e.g., curricular, cocurricular experiences)
- faculty experiences and roles in student learning (e.g., curriculum design, outcomes assessment, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning)
- dimensions of campus climates (e.g., social responsibility; diversity, equity, and inclusion)
- civic and global learning and development (e.g., global competence, ethical and moral reasoning, inter- and intrapersonal development)
- students’ behavioral health (e.g., mental health, well-being, disability)
- institutional effectiveness (e.g., institutional research and assessment, decision-support, policy change)
- organization development and educational development (e.g., workshops, strategic planning)
Methodologically, I am primarily a quantitative researcher, but I have experience with qualitative inquiry and mixed-methods procedures.
Student Engagement
It is essential to develop students’ skills by engaging them in the process. I do this by developing their writing, planning, and analysis skills. Additionally, I do this by co-creating a research question or design with them or explaining the thought process and project evolution. Students must learn to analyze data and convey that information in meaningful and manageable ways. I emphasize the importance of writing and communication in all my courses, as well as my assessment, evaluation, and research projects.