Teaching

Updated September 2023

Courses Taught for College and University Students

I’ve face-to-face, hybrid, and online courses for undergraduate and community college learners for over ten years.

At Seattle Central College (2022)

AHE 330: Information Literacy for Health Sciences (5 credits, hybrid in Canvas with Zoom meetings)

At Pierce College (2013-2023)

CIS 130: Productivity Software (5 credits, online)
READ 055/075/101: Reading for College (5 credits, grounded)
COLLG 110: College Success (5 credits, hybrid)
COLLG 110: College Success (3 credits, grounded)
INFO 101: Research Essentials (2 credits, online)

At Renton Technical College (2017)

COL 101: College Success for Veterinary Assistants (3 credits, grounded)
COL 101: College Success for Band Instrument Repair Technicians (3 credits, grounded)

At Southern Utah University (2017)

LM1010: Information Literacy (1 credit, online)

Courses Taught for Faculty Development

Foundations for Teaching Online (30 hours)

Included units on equity & inclusion in online learning, course mapping, assessment design, course navigation/functionality, engagement and presence, and orientation/syllabi design.

Teaching Philosophy

I believe learning is a communal activity. I make space for every student to engage and participate in a meaningful way. My classroom pedagogy is rooted in shared experiences. In my instruction, I build on students’ previous experiences to link their existing knowledge to new concepts and ideas. I balance instruction time with short readings, reflective writing, partner and group discussions, hands-on activities, exploration, practice, and large group discussions. I know that students are learning when they independently reflect on the “why” behind the lesson, and when they return later to tell me how they applied and reflected on what they learned.

Teaching Experience

I began teaching in libraries when I was a thirteen-year-old volunteer at Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon. I was a “Homework Helper” who helped patrons use the library catalog (in 1996, this was a Telnet dial-up system, login: fastcat). I continued to volunteer at the public library throughout high school. In college, I worked as a Reserve Room Assistant and Circulation Desk Assistant in Mudd Library at Oberlin College.

After college, I worked full-time in Human Resources for a very large company and I taught employees how to understand their benefits. I can think of no more challenging experience than trying to explain the difference between a premium and a deductible over the phone after the caller has been waiting on hold for twenty minutes.

I began working in community college libraries in 2012 with my first position as an adjunct librarian at Lower Columbia College (LCC) in Longview, Washington. While at LCC, I provided research help at the Reference Desk and I taught a few evening information literacy instruction sessions. In fall 2012, I accepted a position as a temporary full-time librarian at Pierce College in Puyallup, Washington. In my first year, I taught over 100 information literacy instruction sessions, answered lots of questions at the Reference Desk (including many questions between eight and nine o’clock in the morning, which I do not remember), and I learned a lot about what it means to support community college learners.

In fall 2013, I accepted a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor, Reference and Instruction Librarian at Pierce College. Over the next three years, I continued to provide instruction in the library and I also taught classes for credit, including INFO 101: Research Essentials (a two-credit online course taught in Canvas) as well as COLLG 110: College Success, a mandatory three-credit class focusing on academic skills, goal setting, and cognitive psychology. I was trained to incorporate Reading Apprenticeship routines in my teaching and I facilitated workshops for other faculty to help them develop reading comprehension skills in their own classrooms. In March 2016, I was granted tenure by the Board of Trustees and was promoted to Associate Professor.

I was very happy at Pierce and enjoyed my work there immensely, but I also continued to look for opportunities to grow as an educator. In July 2016, I began a new position as as an assessment librarian at a four-year university where I designed the library’s student learning assessment program and provided internal support to instruction librarians regarding information literacy pedagogy. I organized large-scale assessment projects that involved collecting and scoring hundreds of student work samples, analyzing assessment data, and writing assessment reports for administration and campus stakeholders.

I moved back to Seattle in August 2017. While settling back into the Pacific Northwest, I had the opportunity to teach as an adjunct at Green River College, Renton Technical College, and Southern Utah University. At Green River, I provided information literacy instruction and research help as a faculty librarian. At Renton Technical College, I teach College Success for vocational programs. For Southern Utah University, I taught LM1010 online (Canvas), a one-credit required information literacy course.