Teaching Philosophy

Many students enter the classroom with the belief that they lack value: they don’t know enough, they don’t have enough, they haven’t done enough. Unfortunately, their life experiences have often only served to confirm and internalize these beliefs for them, leaving many students feeling powerless and ineffectual. Why should anyone listen to them? What do they have to offer?

One of my objectives as an educator is to create an environment in which students can replace those insecurities with a spirit of confidence, inquisitiveness, and excitement in the face of new challenges. At the core of my teaching philosophy is the belief that within each student lies the potential to construct a self-determined narrative for their own future, informed by their experiences and guided by mentors who show them that they matter. I strive to be such a mentor and show each student that they are not only valued, but also that their voice is heard. This is accomplished not simply with platitudes or empty rhetoric but through actionable steps informed by the needs of the student community.

It is vital to give students the opportunity to contextualize new information through their own personal lens. To that end, I structure my courses in a way which engages students in multiple ways, through exposure to diverse media forms and texts, and activities such as iterative design exercises, in-class workshopping, and both one-on-one and peer feedback sessions. I believe that there is power in tasking students with work that requires both self-reflection and critical engagement with challenging concepts. In each class students are pushed to interrogate their own interests and beliefs and connect those values to course content in meaningful ways. In learning to articulate these connections to their peers, each student is given the opportunity to learn from one another, clarify their own perspectives, and reach deeper understandings of critical discourses within media studies. 

In each student I encourage and support a deep inquiry into the core values of media studies through the materials, issues, and experiences that impact their day-to-day lives. I do this not only because I believe in the power of media to express the human spirit, record our values and experiences as human creatures, and query what it means to move through the world, but because I also believe that media is granted power through the hands and minds that shape it. The voices that will define what media studies will look like in days to come are speaking in the classroom today, and I believe that it is a privilege, as an educator, to be a part of supporting that future.

COURSES TAUGHT

  • FA2020 UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI - ADJUNCT FACULTY: Audio for X
    Tools, techniques, and creative approaches for audio and sound design across various environments, including gaming, interactive/immersive media, film, composition, and more.  

  • FA2019 GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY - INSTRUCTOR OF RECORD: Intro to Media Studies
    Survey of the history of media from the latter half of the 19th century to the present, with a focus on critical theory for interpreting and understanding media and other cultural phenomena.

  • 2014 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL COLLEGE - LECTURER: Creative Computing Media; Digital Audio Production, Gaming Platforms & Technologies
    Instruction on the applications and features of historical and contemporary audio, gaming, and digital media technologies. 

  • SP2013 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER LECTURER: Foundations of Electronic Media
    Survey of the historic development, technological, economic, programming, social impact, and regulatory foundations of the broadcasting and electronic media communications industries in America.

  • 2012-2013 ART INSTITUTES INTERNATIONAL MINNESOTA ADJUNCT FACULTY: Audio Technology I, II; Audio Recording I, II; Listening Analysis; Survey of the Music Industry
    Instruction on the theoretical foundations and history of audio engineering and recording, and basics of perception and psychoacoustics. Lecture and practical, studio-based instruction on operational techniques of multitrack recording.

Selected Guest Lectures and Workshops:

  • Girls in Music & Technology Camp (GiMaT), University of Michigan, 2020

  • “Digital Art in a Physical World.” Georgia Tech (Principles of Visual Design), 2019

  • “Developing an AudioVisual Manifesto.” NAVA Festival. Reykjavik, Iceland, 2019

  • “Risk and Expressivity in Computational Performance Practices.” Georgia Tech Brown Bag Speaker Series, 2019

  • “Gender Diversity at NIME.” NIME 2018 Conference, Blackburg, VA, 2018

  • “AudioVisual Composition Techniques.” Georgia Tech School of Music Pre-College Summer Program, Music Technology Summer Camp Workshop, 2018

  • “Creative Coding for Audio and Visuals.” Georgia Tech School of Music Pre-College Summer Camp, 2018

  • “Composing Video for Music.” New York University (Composition, Dr. Elizabeth Hoffman), 2017

  • “Expression, collaboration, and physical engagement in digital performance.” Georgia Tech, School of Music Summer Technology Camp, 2017

  • “Digital Art in a Post-Digital World.” Art.CHI 2016 Conference. San Jose, CA, 2016

  • “Audio/Visuals.” Georgia Tech Music Technology Seminar Series, 2016

  • “Reconceptualizing Visual Performance.” Copenhagen IT University/Georgia Tech Material Media Workshop, 2015

  • “Audiovision.” University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (Art Studio, Dr. Xiaohong Zhang), 2014

  • “Audiovision.” University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (Sound & Image, Dr. Jeff Herriott), 2014

  • “Notating Visuals.” Goldsmith’s University London, Real Time Visuals Workshop. London, UK, 2013

  • “exit crafting.” University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (Composition, Dr. Jeff Herriott), 2013

  • "Visual Notation.” ideasLab Workshop, Sonic Arts Research Centre. Belfast, N. Ireland, 2012

  • “Performing Media.” University of North Alabama, (Composition, Dr. Mark Snyder), 2010

  • “exit crafting.” University of Wisconsin-Madison (Bass Studio), 2010