Teaching
Teaching Experience:
Primary Instructor:
Teaching Assistant:
Primary Instructor:
- Principles of Microeconomics (ECO 201) - University of Kentucky
- Spring 2022
- Fall 2022
- Summer 2020 (online)
- Intermediate Microeconomics (ECO 401) - University of Kentucky
- Summer 2022
- Summer 2021 (online)
Teaching Assistant:
- Recitation Instructor - Business Statistics (ECO 391), University of Kentucky
- Teaching Assistant to Dr. John Garen - University of Kentucky
- Teaching Assistant to Dr. Gail Hoyt - University of Kentucky
- Teaching Assistant to Dr. Lala Ma - University of Kentucky
Teaching Philosophy:
When I first started learning about economics as an undergraduate, I was amazed by how many of the world’s problems could be examined through an economic lens. Years later I still feel just as passionate about economics and the power it has to teach us about the world. My primary goal when teaching economics is that I pass this powerful tool onto my students, as my teachers did for me.
I connect my students with the concepts in economics by connecting the ideas of economics to the real world. When students use tools learned in class to analyze a real problem, those tools stick with them. Students are naturally curious about why gas prices rise and fall, why there is high inflation, and plenty of other real-world concerns related to economics. Showing that economics can help answer those questions can inspire long-term appreciation of economics and shows its usefulness in their lives.
I believe economics is intuitive. I tell my students not to memorize material, but to understand the intuition behind each concept. By giving students familiar examples, I show them that they already understand many of the concepts we learn – especially at the principles level. Students already understand that if the price of a good rises, fewer people want to buy that good. I try to teach in a way that formalizes concepts students already understand intuitively. Economics can be a difficult class for many students. By appealing to their intuition, I hope to make economics more accessible and more enjoyable.
Every student is unique. I learned from my experience as a tutor that each student learns differently. Some examples work perfectly for one student, but those same examples do not resonate for another. Understanding this, I present material in multiple ways. Knowing I teach a diverse group of students with differences in race, age, socio-economic status, religion, nationality – I offer a variety of examples using a mix of pedagogic techniques to connect to the wide variety of lived experiences.
Because all students learn differently, I use multiple modes of delivery while teaching. I find I increase student engagement when I vary the mode of delivery. In each lecture, I use a combination of lecture slides, drawing on the white board, and informal class discussion. This variety keeps students engaged, and helps students who learn better with specific modes of delivery. I regularly incorporate in-class work sheets that students work on together in small groups. Students benefit by learning and teaching each other, and I am able to assist students individually. Many students struggle because they are unwilling to ask a question during lecture, but being able to interact with students one-on-one gives them the opportunity to ask questions in a more comfortable environment.
I believe economics is important for everyone to learn. Teaching principles of economics at a large university means that I have taught students studying many different disciplines. My goal is to engage these students with economics and to show them that the lessons learned in class can be applied to their life, not just an exam. I enjoy showing my students the breadth of areas of economics. There is something in economics for everyone. I take pride in the fact that several of my former students switched majors into economics after taking my course.
While I love exposing economic ideas to students who are new to economics, I have also enjoyed teaching economics students at a higher level in Intermediate Microeconomics. Diving into details that are not possible in a principles class is exciting for students and for me.
Teaching economics is rewarding. There is almost nothing better than to explain a difficult concept to a room full of confused students and see the lightbulbs above their heads light up, or to work with a struggling student over the course of many weeks and see them succeed after putting in the work. I have had the pleasure of teaching many students and I regularly see students around campus. They seem happy to see me and I am happy to see them. I know the importance of feeling respected by your teacher and the importance of creating a classroom where students feel their voice matters.
When I first started learning about economics as an undergraduate, I was amazed by how many of the world’s problems could be examined through an economic lens. Years later I still feel just as passionate about economics and the power it has to teach us about the world. My primary goal when teaching economics is that I pass this powerful tool onto my students, as my teachers did for me.
I connect my students with the concepts in economics by connecting the ideas of economics to the real world. When students use tools learned in class to analyze a real problem, those tools stick with them. Students are naturally curious about why gas prices rise and fall, why there is high inflation, and plenty of other real-world concerns related to economics. Showing that economics can help answer those questions can inspire long-term appreciation of economics and shows its usefulness in their lives.
I believe economics is intuitive. I tell my students not to memorize material, but to understand the intuition behind each concept. By giving students familiar examples, I show them that they already understand many of the concepts we learn – especially at the principles level. Students already understand that if the price of a good rises, fewer people want to buy that good. I try to teach in a way that formalizes concepts students already understand intuitively. Economics can be a difficult class for many students. By appealing to their intuition, I hope to make economics more accessible and more enjoyable.
Every student is unique. I learned from my experience as a tutor that each student learns differently. Some examples work perfectly for one student, but those same examples do not resonate for another. Understanding this, I present material in multiple ways. Knowing I teach a diverse group of students with differences in race, age, socio-economic status, religion, nationality – I offer a variety of examples using a mix of pedagogic techniques to connect to the wide variety of lived experiences.
Because all students learn differently, I use multiple modes of delivery while teaching. I find I increase student engagement when I vary the mode of delivery. In each lecture, I use a combination of lecture slides, drawing on the white board, and informal class discussion. This variety keeps students engaged, and helps students who learn better with specific modes of delivery. I regularly incorporate in-class work sheets that students work on together in small groups. Students benefit by learning and teaching each other, and I am able to assist students individually. Many students struggle because they are unwilling to ask a question during lecture, but being able to interact with students one-on-one gives them the opportunity to ask questions in a more comfortable environment.
I believe economics is important for everyone to learn. Teaching principles of economics at a large university means that I have taught students studying many different disciplines. My goal is to engage these students with economics and to show them that the lessons learned in class can be applied to their life, not just an exam. I enjoy showing my students the breadth of areas of economics. There is something in economics for everyone. I take pride in the fact that several of my former students switched majors into economics after taking my course.
While I love exposing economic ideas to students who are new to economics, I have also enjoyed teaching economics students at a higher level in Intermediate Microeconomics. Diving into details that are not possible in a principles class is exciting for students and for me.
Teaching economics is rewarding. There is almost nothing better than to explain a difficult concept to a room full of confused students and see the lightbulbs above their heads light up, or to work with a struggling student over the course of many weeks and see them succeed after putting in the work. I have had the pleasure of teaching many students and I regularly see students around campus. They seem happy to see me and I am happy to see them. I know the importance of feeling respected by your teacher and the importance of creating a classroom where students feel their voice matters.