Biography
Experienced educator with Ph.D. in English. Strong background in workplace writing and speaking and cross-cultural strategies. Eighteen years of experience teaching professional communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Teaching Philosophy and Goals: (1) Working at “Intersections”: Steve Jobs famously said that he worked at the “intersection of the humanities and technology”; I likewise aspire to demonstrate connections across disciplinary and professional boundaries. In my class on intercultural communication, for example, we often discuss how a current or historical event, such as the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe, sheds light on differing cultural values. These conversations lead to an outlining of practical strategies for effective communication in the present. I believe that the best teaching enacts the “connectedness” of knowledge. Doing this well can engage and energize a classroom. And when students begin to see their academic experience as an exploration not of disparate fields of study but of a coherent landscape, they are better able to function in a complex, evolving, and interconnected professional environment. (2) Demonstrating Informed Flexibility: Deborah Tannen has asserted that the best communication style is a flexible one; this is also the hallmark of the best pedagogy. What makes sense when planning a specific class may not work well in practice; what “clicks” one semester may not be productive in the next. It is therefore vital to continuously adapt and adjust one’s approaches, both in “real time” in a specific class and across semesters, in order to better achieve course learning outcomes. (For example, having a variety of strategies at the ready allows me to shape class time effectively when a given activity is working especially well—or not so well.) By being adaptive rather than scripted in a specific class session, I model for students the importance of a fluid, informed communication strategy that is sensitive to feedback.
Selected Presentations
Association for Business Communication, Annual Conference (2014) “Cross-Cultural America: Pedagogy and Diversity.”
Annual Meeting, Association for Business Communication, Europe (2010) “Effective Team Communication”