Teaching Examples
Gender, Media and Culture: Asynchronous Teaching
In this video, I led a week of instruction for a Gender, Media and Culture course—an entirely asynchronous class with over 40 students at both graduate and undergraduate levels. I introduced students to the concept of gender as performance through common media archetypes, then guided them to apply this framework by analyzing archetypes in their own chosen media texts.
Navigating Sensitive Topics: Presenting Research on Premarital Education
This presentation analyzed how evangelical leaders teach about sexuality while addressing "purity culture's" harmful legacy. Using Hodges and LaBelle's (2024) study, I examined how leaders apply Rhetorical & Relational Goals Theory—balancing content delivery with building trust through empathy rather than judgment. The presentation connected findings to broader principles: in sensitive topics, trust-building enables learning, and educators must recognize their limits.
Teaching Disability Models in Communication
This teaching demonstration introduces the medical versus social models of disability through active learning. Students analyze contrasting advising emails, practice reframing problematic language, then collaboratively "re-script" media narratives to center systemic barriers rather than individual deficits. The lesson concludes with discussion of adapting this approach to teach rhetorical awareness and ethical practice across communication courses.
COVID as Catalyst: Presenting Research on Disability and Access
For this presentation, I synthesized and analyzed Parsloe and Smith's (2022) research on how pandemic teaching revealed systemic barriers faced by disabled students. I explained key concepts like "(mis)fitting"—how disability emerges through interactions with inaccessible environments—and presented findings showing students' relief when barriers were removed, followed by fear as institutions rushed to "return to normal." The presentation connected theory to practice, offering concrete strategies like flexible deadlines ("crip time"), hybrid options ("crip space"), and democratized participation, while facilitating discussion about which accessibility features endure and what that reveals about our values.