Teaching

Critical Thinking: Pedagogy and Practice

Active and experiential learning is a cornerstone of contemporary education. Critical thinking is based on experience analyzing and drawing sound conclusions from primary materials. Games help students learn concepts and relationships through play and group discussion. I have designed three board games for my classes and have presented on this pedagogic technique to my colleagues. Lightning Presentations on self-selected course "case studies" help students learn public speaking skills and help fellow students build analytical connections. Group work like debates and group presentations teach students the importance of delegating tasks, maintaining a project platform, and grounding arguments in evidence.

Courses

Below are some of the courses I have taught in human geography, international studies, and Asian studies at UCLA, CU-Boulder, Boston College, and the University of Tampa.

Geopolitics and Political Geography
Contested Borders between Security and Migration
World Regional Geography
Cultural Geography

Urban Geography in Global Context
Cities and Global Connections

Foundations in International Studies
Global China and the Belt and Road Initiative
Geography of Contemporary China

GIS Mapmaking for the Social Sciences

Global Energy Transitions
Rivers and Mountains: Social and Environmental Geographies

Digital tools are a necessity for teaching students to connect their knowledge with wider audiences. In my International Studies and GIS Mapmaking courses, we use ArcGIS Story Maps to teach students visual analysis and narrative flow. In my Cities and Global Connections course, I use Perusall to promote collaborative analysis of primary documents, such as 13th century visitors to the Mongol city of Karakorum. In my Global Energy Transitions course, students create podcasts in which they synthesize spoken word and sound effects and engage and persuade their audiences with rhetorical techniques. In my Urban Geography, we have also scanned historic urban postcards to conduct and present on content analyses.

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