Teaching Philosophy

I originally did not set out to be an educator. In fact, the idea of being back in a classroom—after earning my bachelor’s degree in communication (with an emphasis in journalism) from Cal Poly Pomona in 2016—was nowhere near my aspirations as a young, 22-year-old news reporter. However, when a former professor asked if I was interested in teaching a copyediting class in the fall of 2020, I agreed thinking it would be a nice supplement to my reporting. What I didn’t know was that I would fall in love with teaching, so much so that it would eclipse news reporting in my priorities. Over the years, my love for teaching grew exponentially—as we moved from remote learning on Zoom to in-person classes, and as I added argumentation and news reporting in my course repertoire. 

This teaching philosophy statement is a product of the last six years of college teaching—a period of time where I’ve honed a nuanced teaching style—as well as the invaluable knowledge gained from this master’s program. With the help of the wonderful faculty and staff in CPP’s Communication Department, I have been able to establish and enhance my understanding of what it means to be an educator. My broad goal as a lecturer in communication is for students to be more confident and skilled in written expression and reasoning; I often joke with my copyediting students that even if the only thing they glean from class is how to use a semicolon correctly, I’m satisfied.

Why I Teach: Encouraging a More Media-Literate Generation

As a news reporter who has grown wary about the direction that media and culture have gone down, it was easy for me to remain jaded, especially considering the restraints I was under in the newsrooms in which I’ve worked. But teaching communication courses—especially those which underscore media literacy—has given me the profoundly unique opportunity to design lessons and class discussions that encourage students to think more critically about the messages they see on a daily basis.

Early in my teaching career, I was astonished at how little my students understood the ways in which the English language can be warped, bastardized and manipulated by the powers that be. Less than half of all Americans reported ever learning how to analyze the messages they saw on television, in advertising and in other media (Media Literacy Now, Reboot, 2022). With the growing ubiquity of media in our lives, and generative artificial intelligence’s ability to distort fact and truth, it is important to me that I push toward an “activist pedagogy” with “socially active” syllabi that promotes civic literacy and critical thinking (Shomedran et al, 2026). I’m not just teaching students who want to work in journalism, public relations or anywhere under the larger traditional media umbrella. I’m teaching students who consume, create and share media. The ability to suss out misinformation and to, in turn, promote accuracy, nuance and critical thinking is an important characteristic that everybody in a democracy should possess.

My Three C’s of Communication: Collaboration, Community, Culture

Lev Vygotsky’s social constructivism pedagogy speaks to me as someone who began teaching during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even though I wasn’t aware of Vygotsky at the time, I understood the significance of a collaborative classroom, which was difficult to replicate on Zoom. However, I did my best by assigning work where students had to find real-life examples in whatever media they usually consume of the topics we were discussing at the time. 

For example, in my copyediting course in the fall of 2020, we spent a week discussing news headlines. We went over the specific format of headlines (the Associated Press Style formats of headlines, specifically), and I wanted them to find examples of news organizations that applied the principles and formats of what makes for a strong, effective news headline. I had each group of students create short presentations of their findings and had them think critically about the headline’s verbiage, choice of information to highlight and the publication’s general political bend. I enjoy assigning this exercise because it gets the students to think deeply about how and why mainstream news package news in different ways.

Teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic was an exercise for all educators on best practices when it comes to classroom learning that is culturally conscious and relevant. Gloria Ladson-Billings’ Culturally Relevant Pedagogy also speaks to me as an educator who teaches a vastly diverse student body. In both my argumentation and copyediting courses, I’ve had several English as a Second Language (ESL) students, many of whom may not be as skilled in the complexities of English grammar. It’s important to me that at the beginning of the semester, I get a gauge of my students’ writing capabilities, understanding their points of weakness and their strengths. Understanding them and how they learn most effectively is crucial.

John Dewey’s philosophy is another approach that I have incorporated into my teaching. Like Vygotsky’s philosophy, Dewey’s vision of a Progressivist teaching philosophy was something that came naturally as my identity as an educator began to take shape. Cal Poly Pomona’s “Learn By Doing” motto was ingrained in me since I was an undergraduate student, and so as a professor, it’s a motto I take seriously when putting together lesson plans. Like in the headlines example I shared, I find that my teaching is most effective when I assign work where students must apply the lessons to their real-world; one such assignment is finding and dissecting a real-world example of the Toulmin Model in practice. 

Likewise, it’s important for me to keep my material fresh and applicable to the current zeitgeist. In my argumentation class, instead of showing courtroom examples, I show debates on podcasts, deceptive social media advertising and propaganda. “How can I make this complicated theory relevant and applicable to the 18-year-olds in my argumentation class?” is a question I lead with when designing my syllabus. In my copyediting course, I ask myself, “How do I make this class universally applicable to students, regardless of their post-graduate goals?” I answer these questions by understanding the collective personalities of each class, seeing how my current materials apply to their shared goals, and make adjustments. Finding that balance between molding class material to my students while also challenging them to expand their knowledge is essential to my teaching philosophy.

Building Confidence and Promoting Independence

When it comes to teaching the new generation of Americans, I design my lectures and lessons for all of my classes around the goal of clear, confident expression. With my copyediting students, I want them to gain the confidence to express themselves precisely by reminding them of the limitlessness of language. For my argumentation students, I want students to gain the intellect and confidence to be able to utilize reasoning and critical thinking skills to advocate for themselves and their communities. 

With the expansion of generative A.I. and the supposed threats these learning models pose to independent thinking, I’m constantly finding ways to challenge my students to deepen their understanding of what makes for clear and accurate communication—rather than relying on the convenience of a thought generator. 

Harnessing communication to understand the world

In conclusion, my teaching philosophy surrounds the overall growth of my students. Yes, it is important to me that they carry on the skills they’ve learned in class to their post-grad lives. But it’s also important for me to enrich their curiosity about the world, to encourage them to think analytically and to more precisely and authentically communicate their ideas, actions and perspectives. I hope that my students leave my classroom with the gusto to critically observe and appreciate the complicated world around them.

References and research

HOPKINS, ERIN A. “John Dewey and Progressive Education.” The Journal of Educational Thought (JET) / Revue de La Pensée Éducative, vol. 50, no. 1, 2017, pp. 59–68. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26372390. Accessed 18 Sept. 2026.

Ladson-Billings, Gloria. “But That’s Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.” Theory Into Practice, vol. 34, no. 3, 1995, pp. 159–65. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1476635. Accessed 17 Sept. 2026.

National Survey finds most U.S. adults have not had media literacy education in high school. Media Literacy Now | Advocating for Media Literacy Education. (2023, May 31). https://medialiteracynow.org/nationalsurvey2022/

Roth, W.M.; Lee, J.Y. (June 2007). ""Vygotsky's Neglected Legacy": Cultural Historical Activity Theory". Review of Educational Research 77 (2). doi:10.3102/0034654306298273. 

Shomedran, Pratama, A., & Septiyanda, D. (2026). No viral, no justice: Community education as a missing pillar of Media Ethics in Indonesia. Media Asia, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/01296612.2026.2701052