Teaching

Teaching Overview

My teaching interests include political behavior, race and representation, political communication, misinformation and agnotology, and CSS. As a political scientist trained in both quantitative research and applied pedagogy, I aim to help students develop analytical skills while remaining attentive to questions of power, identity, and political knowledge.

I emphasize active learning, accessibility in instruction, media literacy, and connecting course material to lived political experiences. I will be teaching advocacy training classes to graduate students at UC Davis as the Legislative Affairs Director. My pedagogical approach is grounded in civic empowerment and critical inquiry.

Teaching Experience

University of California Center Sacramento

Graduate Teaching Assistant (Summer 2025)

POL 195, POL 196E

• Lectured, graded, and advised a cohort of 35 undergraduate students on policy research and public service professionalization
• Courses Taught: POL 195: Policy Analysis in California (Lead TA); POL 196E: Research Methods (TA)

University of California, Davis

Graduate Teaching Assistant (2023–present)

POL 007V, POL 011C, POL 012B, POL 151

• Assisted in course content delivery, discussion facilitation, student support, and grading in lower- and upper-division political science courses.
• Led review sessions and supported students in understanding core concepts in California Policy, Media & Politics, Climate Change Politics, Constitutional Politics, and Research Methods.
• Create engaging course content for undergraduate students in the PA Responsible for exam preparation, writing workshops, and grading for a class of 120+ major-track students
• Developed an Excel-based grading method that automated student roster management, tracked non-submissions, and integrated participation scoring with Canvas SpeedGrader through CSV import/export

California State University, Fullerton

Graduate Student Assistant (2021-2023)

POSC 100 – American Government (2021–2022)

Supported delivery and lectured on:

• California 2021 Recall Election
• Policy diffusion in Civil Rights era
• Supreme Court confirmation processes
• History of party systems and campaigning

Guest Lectures Delivered:

• Dr. Jordan Kujala

  Writing a Literature Review for CA Policy Research

  Summer 2025 (UCCS)

• Dr. Robert Castro

  2021 CA Recall Election; Party Systems & Campaigning

  Fall 2021; Spring 2022 (CSUF)

• Dr. Brian Lovato

  Policy Diffusion during the Civil Rights Movement

  Fall 2021 (CSUF)

• Dr. Meriem Doucette

  Party History & Electoral Systems

  Fall 2022 (CSUF)

Lectured Topics: CA 2021 Recall Election, CA Recall Election Debrief, Financial Incentive within Interest Groups & Parties, History of American Parties, Elections & Campaigning, Confirmation Process of a SCOTUS Nominee, and De Facto and De Jure Policy Diffusion during the Civil Rights Movement

Pedagogical Commitments

My teaching philosophy centers on three core commitments:

1. Critical Knowledge Formation – Encouraging students not only to acquire information, but to examine how political “knowledge” is produced, manipulated, and contested.
2. Applied Learning and Democratic Engagement – Integrating contemporary political phenomena such as elections, misinformation, media ecosystems, and representation debates.
3. Inclusive and Accessible Pedagogy – Creating space for students from diverse academic and social backgrounds to engage, question, and connect theory to identity and lived experience.

Mentoring & Engagement

• Advisor and peer mentor to first-generation and transfer students transitioning into political science.
• Active supporter of student learning through advocacy for equitable access to academic resources at the systemwide level.