TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
I currently teach courses in Communication and Social Technologies here at ASU-New College. I am currently teaching “New Media” and will teach a graduate seminar entitled “Games as Social Technology” in Spring 2018. While at MIT, I had the pleasure of teaching in the Comparative Media Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies Programs. In Fall 2016, I taught Gender & Media and taught “Marginalized Masculinities” in Spring 2017. At my previous institution (EKU), I also had the pleasure of teaching in three distinctly different academic departments: Cultural Studies (Women & Gender Studies, Rural Studies, African/African-American Studies), the Department of Computer Science (Games and Culture), and the School of Justice Studies. (Criminal Justice, Social Justice). Given the convergence of disciplines reflected in my teaching and scholarship, I am enabled to combine identity, justice, and digital media in ways that enhance the curricula of each department, open new areas of interest to the students enrolled in my courses, and enrich my research. Just as in my research, I am also committed to interdisciplinary teaching.
I am a firm believer in the value of dialogue as a teaching tool. I have always sought to employ critical interaction in the learning process. I believe in encouraging students to engage course material from their personal, social, and cultural frameworks in addition to the academic frameworks we employ. I employ dialogic strategies that empower students as knowledge producers and encourage them to provide their own expertise on concepts I facilitate. I truly understand that learning requires consumption of knowledge, but we have moved beyond the banking model within teaching. Students are not empty vessels and we are not simply transferring knowledge for consumption. As a professor, I provide students learning opportunities and it is up to the student to receive this information to inform and ultimately transform their ways of thinking about the world.
When possible, I employ digital technologies to operationalize my teaching philosophy. Examples of these technologies include social networking, weblogs, video blogs, instant messaging, and even gaming communities. For example, students maintain blogs throughout the semester connecting course material to historical and contemporary events. Each class has a visual project moving students written projects but to a more creative and imaginative way to illuminate a topic. The incorporation of these creative technologies has increased interest in collaborating with peers outside the classroom setting and has improved projects overall.
My early evaluations reveal a disconnect between students and the course content associated with culturally enhanced topics (feminism, critical race, colonialism, queer theory, etc). I had to work to make the unfamiliar familiar by engaging them with in-class activities as well as digitally enhanced projects for application of these concepts. For instance, in my Identity & Video Games course, students are required to complete a semester long ethnography of a video game and its associated digital community (which then informs their own creation of a game). Students are asked to maintain a journal mapping their progress and sharing periodically with their research cohort (students are placed in groups based on interests). Group members ask them questions related to real world implications of their engagements with the game. Many students fail to recognize that video games should be taken seriously but by examining the ideological structures inherent in video game narratives, the inequalities present in video game communities, students quickly gain a sense of why games should be taken seriously. This activity encourages students to consider how their biases and prejudices can affect the design process and influence the outcome of the game (syllabus enclosed). Students are also required to use the knowledge generated from their ethnography to develop and design their own interactive, story based, video game using an open-source tool (Twine, Sploder, or Unity for Computer Science students). They are urged to not only rethink stereotypical representations and narratives deployed within contemporary video games, but also to imagine how games can be designed to ensure inclusivity, equity, and justice.
I am a firm believer in the value of dialogue as a teaching tool. I have always sought to employ critical interaction in the learning process. I believe in encouraging students to engage course material from their personal, social, and cultural frameworks in addition to the academic frameworks we employ. I employ dialogic strategies that empower students as knowledge producers and encourage them to provide their own expertise on concepts I facilitate. I truly understand that learning requires consumption of knowledge, but we have moved beyond the banking model within teaching. Students are not empty vessels and we are not simply transferring knowledge for consumption. As a professor, I provide students learning opportunities and it is up to the student to receive this information to inform and ultimately transform their ways of thinking about the world.
When possible, I employ digital technologies to operationalize my teaching philosophy. Examples of these technologies include social networking, weblogs, video blogs, instant messaging, and even gaming communities. For example, students maintain blogs throughout the semester connecting course material to historical and contemporary events. Each class has a visual project moving students written projects but to a more creative and imaginative way to illuminate a topic. The incorporation of these creative technologies has increased interest in collaborating with peers outside the classroom setting and has improved projects overall.
My early evaluations reveal a disconnect between students and the course content associated with culturally enhanced topics (feminism, critical race, colonialism, queer theory, etc). I had to work to make the unfamiliar familiar by engaging them with in-class activities as well as digitally enhanced projects for application of these concepts. For instance, in my Identity & Video Games course, students are required to complete a semester long ethnography of a video game and its associated digital community (which then informs their own creation of a game). Students are asked to maintain a journal mapping their progress and sharing periodically with their research cohort (students are placed in groups based on interests). Group members ask them questions related to real world implications of their engagements with the game. Many students fail to recognize that video games should be taken seriously but by examining the ideological structures inherent in video game narratives, the inequalities present in video game communities, students quickly gain a sense of why games should be taken seriously. This activity encourages students to consider how their biases and prejudices can affect the design process and influence the outcome of the game (syllabus enclosed). Students are also required to use the knowledge generated from their ethnography to develop and design their own interactive, story based, video game using an open-source tool (Twine, Sploder, or Unity for Computer Science students). They are urged to not only rethink stereotypical representations and narratives deployed within contemporary video games, but also to imagine how games can be designed to ensure inclusivity, equity, and justice.
SUMMARY OF INSTRUCTOR RATINGS (Selected Courses)
. |
Marginalized Masculinities Spring 2017 MIT* |
Identity & Video Games Spring 2016 EKU** |
Race, Media, & Culture Fall 2015 EKU |
Gender, Class, & Race Spring 2014 EKU |
Overall rating of the instructor |
4.8 |
4.5 |
4.6 |
4.3 |
Overall rating of the course |
4.2 |
4.6 |
4.5 |
4.4 |
Instructor stimulated student interest |
5.8 |
4.3 |
4.6 |
4.4 |
Instructor displayed knowledge of subject |
5.4 |
4.4 |
4.6 |
4.6 |
Instructor/Course Fair |
6.0 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
*MIT ratings below are based on the following scale: 1=Strongly Disagree, 4=Neutral, 7=Strongly Agree, N/A=Not Applicable (7 is best)
**EKU ratings below are based on the following scale: 5-Excellent, 4-Good, 3-Okay, 2-Poor, 1 – Very Poor
Selected Comments from Student Feedback
Student comments on open-ended questions affirm many of the teaching decisions I have described above. Students commonly report that I am passionate and engaging in the classroom, I make the material, readings, and topics easy for students to understand, and that the assignments allow for students to work at their own pace. Almost all of my students state that I have a positive attitude and show concern for all people. Here are a few of the comments that affirm my strengths in and approach to teaching:
Marginalized Masculinities (Spring 2017, MIT)
Identity & Video Games (Spring 2016, EKU)
Race, Media, & Culture (Fall, 2015, EKU)
Gender, Class, & Race (Spring 2014, EKU)
IMPROVING TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS
I have also taken advantage of professional development to improve my teaching effectiveness. One notable program that greatly improved intersectional pedagogy, was the Teaching Women’s Studies Online Training Workshop offered through MS. In the Classroom at UNC-Charlotte. Additionally, I served as a Group Leader for the Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop provided through the Humanities, Arts, Science, & Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC) that provided evidence-based, best practices in teaching pedagogy. I have continuously sought these kinds of opportunities to improve educational outcomes.
**EKU ratings below are based on the following scale: 5-Excellent, 4-Good, 3-Okay, 2-Poor, 1 – Very Poor
Selected Comments from Student Feedback
Student comments on open-ended questions affirm many of the teaching decisions I have described above. Students commonly report that I am passionate and engaging in the classroom, I make the material, readings, and topics easy for students to understand, and that the assignments allow for students to work at their own pace. Almost all of my students state that I have a positive attitude and show concern for all people. Here are a few of the comments that affirm my strengths in and approach to teaching:
Marginalized Masculinities (Spring 2017, MIT)
- The course was aggressively interdisciplinary in a great way – we were encouraged to actively engage with many different spheres in which gender comes into play
- It incorporated multiple modes of engagement, including readings, student-led presentations, and community events
- I was interested in taking a class with Professor Gray while she was visiting this year
- The organization was good but we ended up cancelling several classes
- I wish we could have done a daily brief “current events” chat
Identity & Video Games (Spring 2016, EKU)
- It was presented in a unique way that kept me excited to learn
- She communicated perfectly. Dr. Gray teaches with enthusiasm
- Dr. Gray is excellent at communicating the material. She is very knowledgeable about these subjects and making it really easy to understand
- She did many hands on projects that we were able to learn from
- She is able to come down on our level and teach us
- Very knowledgeable…approachable about the material…responds quickly outside of the classroom
Race, Media, & Culture (Fall, 2015, EKU)
- I think the assignments, tests, and grading are not too difficult, but you still have to work hard and learn the material
- She sometimes speeds through things but makes sure she notes that its available online and you can ask questions at any point
- She has love for the content but is disorganized
- She showed a great deal of interest in the subject matter
- She is very intelligent and knows what she is talking about
- [Dr. Gray is] very excited all the time and she treats you like a person
- The course is fair and manageable. It just feels rushed because it’s an eight week class. It felt disorganized because of the snow.
Gender, Class, & Race (Spring 2014, EKU)
- The class is not difficult as long as you pay attention and do the readings
- I found this to be a easy but yet difficult class
- [This class] changed the way I view race and gender by presenting it in a different light.
- She learned our names quickly and made sure to include everyone in discussions
- [Dr. Gray’s] greatest strength is that she want you to understand the topic she teaching. She make sure we know
- She is passionate in this area of study which I think makes her teaching very affective [sic]
- Organizing the groups and keeping the lass in smooth running order is something she struggle with
- Content was presented by lecture and other various forms (powerpoint, videos, etc). The coverage was thorough and covered all the important topics
- The instructor is very friendly and easy to get along with. And she makes class enjoyable, by getting students involved
IMPROVING TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS
I have also taken advantage of professional development to improve my teaching effectiveness. One notable program that greatly improved intersectional pedagogy, was the Teaching Women’s Studies Online Training Workshop offered through MS. In the Classroom at UNC-Charlotte. Additionally, I served as a Group Leader for the Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop provided through the Humanities, Arts, Science, & Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC) that provided evidence-based, best practices in teaching pedagogy. I have continuously sought these kinds of opportunities to improve educational outcomes.
SAMPLE SYLLABI
| sample_syllabus_klgray_identity_video_games.docx |
