Teaching and Curriculum Development

I teach students, not courses–which is why I love developing new curriculum and innovative forms of assessment. When my classes are going well, they are collaborative learning communities where students are accountable to each other and value the diverse skills and perspectives their peers bring to any discussion or project. I won the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2013 and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Teaching Activism Award in 2022.

Some courses I’ve created

  • Art Activism Studio Project (co-created)

  • Blogging: Beyond the Basics (co-created)

  • Big Chicago: City of the Big Solvers 

  • Creative Communities: Troubled Waters (co-created)

  • Defending Democracy

  • Essentials of Interviewing

  • Food and Travel Writing 

  • Master Class: Learning on the Lake

  • Place, Process, Portfolio: Travel Stories (co-created)

  • Solutions Journalism

  • Solutions Journalism: Investigating Social Impact 

  • Travel Writing: Honduras

Some recent published work about teaching

“Instructional Approaches for Classes of Various Sizes.” Faculty Development Days. February, 2024.

“City of the Big Solvers: Learning about Chicago through the lens of those making it a better place.” Chicago Research Summit. October, 2023

“It’s all about the process: teaching solutions journalism.” The Whole Story: Ideas and Dispatches from the Solutions Journalism Network. March 15, 2022

“What I learned from teaching solutions journalism during a terrible, horrible, very bad, no good year.” The Whole Story: Ideas and Dispatches from the Solutions Journalism Network. January 15, 2021

“Help! How do you adapt a solutions journalism course for online teaching in these uncertain times?” The Whole Story: Ideas and Dispatches from the Solutions Journalism Network. August 7, 2020