My teaching is informed by the communicative approach to language learning, anti-racist and queer pedagogies, and feminist theory. They have shaped my three core values that guide my approach to teaching, both as an instructor and as an instructional designer: inclusion, accessibility, and relevance.
With these values, I aim for students to use German often and creatively, foregrounding their own production of original language and ideas; engage critically with cultural texts and develop intellectual habits of mind such as critical thinking, curiosity, and creativity; to feel supported and valued in their learning as equal members of a learning community; and through the use of cutting-edge instructional technology to connect what they learn to the world around them in preparation for purposeful lives and rich vocations.
I have been recognized with numerous awards for outstanding teaching and technological-pedagogical innovation at both the University of Michigan and Vassar College, where I received the Frances D. Fergusson Faculty Technology Exploration Fund to experiment with virtual reality in German-language instruction.
I originate and teach German language at all levels as well as content-based seminars in a variety of contexts, formats, and modalities on topics such as children’s literature, fairy tales, Weimar Germany, contemporary German culture and society, media theory, film, the history of sexuality and gender, queer Germany, and contemporary German politics.