EDUCATOR

Teaching Statement

Before earning my Master of Fine Arts degree in Dramatic Writing at Carnegie Mellon University and launching my career in higher education, I spent 15 years in Chicago teaching theatre to young people. It was there that I formed the foundation of my values as a teacher, including a variation on a well-known Montessori mantra: “follow the student.” As an instructor at university, this phrase guides me to empower each student to be the leader of their own unique learning journey. To accomplish this, I use Universal Design for Learning, champion the power of play and failure as essential tools for learning, and remain committed to fostering an inclusive teaching practice.

My use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is exemplified by the final project in my Comedy Writing course. After completing readings, activities and short writing assignments on types of laughter, comedic devices, jokes and sketches, students apply their learning by pitching, outlining and presenting a final comedic writing project. The parameters of the project are flexible to meet the diverse learning needs of the class – students choose the writing form for their project (play, prose, poetry, song lyrics, etc.), they elect to author the project individually or as part of a group, and they decide how they would like to present their final project (filmed performance or reading, audio recording, script, etc.). The goal of UDL is to give each student an equal chance to succeed by removing obstacles to learning. By offering multiple modes of engagement with their final project, each student is able to fully connect with the assignment and demonstrate their learning in ways that capitalize on their individual interests and goals.

In both my teaching and artistic practices, play is the springboard for innovation and failure is embraced as a tool for growth. As an instructor of emerging theatre creators, I begin with games and exercises that invite students to free themselves from internal obstacles that may be holding them back from embracing their creative impulses. Through play, we work to eliminate self-doubt, fear and shame. We get up on our feet and out of our heads. We say “yes” to all ideas and learn to harness our inner critic. In my Comedy Writing course, students’ first writing assignment is to craft ten horrible jokes and share their top three most groan-inducing with the class. This exercise encourages students to leave their egos at the door and welcome mistakes as opportunities for joy and learning. To measure their growth, we repeat the exercise at the end of the semester and students reflect on how embracing failure has impacted their individual creative writing practices. One of my former students summarized this philosophy best: “You taught me that mistakes become success.”

Of my teaching accomplishments, I am most proud of my work serving the diverse needs of students from a wide range of communities. I have taught theatre to inner city students at Chicago Public Schools. I have brought together students from Jewish, Muslim and Christian day schools to write poetry. I have crafted comedy with PhD robotics and artificial intelligence students. Out of a deep respect for and commitment to my students, I have intentionally worked to cultivate an anti-racist, inclusive teaching practice that enthusiastically welcomes all students. I am committed to educating myself through ongoing training, which I actively integrate into my classroom practices. At the beginning of every course, I work with students to generate classroom agreements. I actively gather student feedback throughout the course through daily check-ins, regular opportunities to anonymously submit questions about course content, pre-surveys and post-surveys, as well as holding individual conferences at midterms and finals. Regardless of the population, my goal is to support each student’s individual learning journey.

TESTIMONIALS

Comedy Writing Students at Carnegie Mellon University