Teaching Philosophy

Classically trained as a biologist and chemist, I describe my teaching pedagogy as Darwinian.  In Darwin's blueprint for life he credits evolution for the beauty and sophistication seen in nature.  Evolution requires both diversity and natural selection to achieve success and overcome a myriad of obstacles.  These principles are equally powerful within the classroom under the themes of experimentation and assessment.  As students and teachers one can continually learn from Nature, our eldest and eminent teacher.

Future
Brandon is in the final stages of his graduate career at the Ohio State University.  He is writing his dissertation and preparing for an academic postdoctoral position.

Teaching Philosophy

As an instructor of writing my immediate goal is to help students to clearly communicate their thoughts and ideas.  However, my job is somewhat more complicated than that because, as I see it, before a student should express her ideas she must first develop the critical thinking skills necessary to analyze and evaluate them.  My job, therefore, is not merely to teach students to write, but to teach students to write in a way that evidences critical thinking.  Because I put so much emphasis on critical thinking skills, I have found that there is a lot of value in nurturing a student’s independence as a scholar.  I make it clear to my class that I encourage fresh approaches to old ideas and I’m willing to entertain any argument.  In short, I assess a student for her ability to reason and argue and not for her ability to choose an interesting topic.

Future
I plan to move to Des Moines, Iowa, where I am currently looking for a job.  I hope to submit some of the many papers I have written during my graduate career at Truman State University (including parts of my thesis) for publication and presentation.  Soon I will apply to return to school to complete my graduate work and earn my Ph.D. in American studies with a focus in American literature.