Teaching Philosophy

My interest in education has evolved from a desire to be of service. And I have found that opportunities can arise not only in designated classrooms, but also in a variety of forums where people come together, whether they are educators, artists, activists or concerned citizens of any category. This idea has informed my personal work as an educator and performer.

How we learn cannot be analyzed separately from how we are taught. The need to learn, the opportunities to learn and the desire to learn are part of our world: Who gets to learn should never be an issue—we all do. But how we teach has a profound effect on whether there is a genuine opportunity for learners to deepen their understanding of themselves in relation to their world. I strive to create an environment that is connected to who I am, who the students are, what the subject is, and the context. I believe that students should not be the only ones engaged in learning.

As an educator I have to be vigilant about the ways I can inadvertently contribute to shutting students down. I want to facilitate a climate in which students can feel invited into a real discussion, rather than invited to a “content area” which they have to “master.” The goal is to nurture students’ critical thinking as habit, rather than as an exercise. I always try to bring the idea that play and serious inquiry are supportive of one another. In fact, they must be together if I want to invite open and sincere inquiry into a setting. Being playful and serious at the same time is more than possible, it is ideal.

As a teacher (instructor, facilitator or educator) I’m most interested in working with people in a context where discovery is welcome. Each learning transaction allows for discovery. We not only want to know how something works, but also how do we work with it, what does it mean for us? This relates to not simply learning by myself. I want to learn with others and from others as we go. I believe this is because learning without a sense of community does not inspire us.

I see group learning and improvisation as themes that can use more emphasis. Group learning is the process that begins when no individual values his or her own learning above the group’s. Improvisation is a practice that facilitates an individual’s developing the capacity to appreciate the learning of the group.

Improvisation is concerned with unanticipated learning foremost. I believe that improvisation should be a component of a learning environment, and I have as a personal goal to make as many situations as possible learning situations.

Performers coming together to prepare for a presentation generally bring with them what we seek for all students in the classroom—a passion for the subject. That love for the subject brings an increased energy to become more deeply involved personally and to collaborate more sincerely with all of the co-participants. Co-participants have to see themselves as co-creators, and the creation to be important to themselves and others. As an educator my challenge is to help students understand that they can learn from and be an inspiration to one another.

I have been prepared and strengthened in the collaborative nature of my academic work by my ongoing work as an artist, performer and producer, creating in a range of performance settings. Working with performers across disciplines has evoked my sensitivity to egos as well as my ability in translation of form. The strength of metaphor, the connections of personal stories and the spiritual presence involved in improvisation have all been essential for my work as an artist. I have also found those aspects to be useful in classrooms in settings that have ranged from teaching poetry in juvenile hall; teaching math to young adults in GED programs and to older adults in B.A. completion programs; to teaching a course in indigenous ways of knowing to a graduate cohort.

In the end, in any way we get to walk what we talk we increase the importance of what we have to say.

Teaching Range

My interest in education has evolved from a desire to be of service. And I have found that opportunities arise not only in designated classrooms, but also in a variety of forums wherever people come together, whether they are educators, artists, activists or concerned citizens of any category. This idea has informed my personal work as an educator and performer. Since reaching out beyond the limited sphere of our daily work is important, I have presented my work/research/play in a variety of settings                      

ADULT EDUCATION
I have worked with NYU’s Leadership for a Changing World program, a Ford Foundation project. I co-facilitated a cooperative inquiry group of LCW awardees/grassroots community leaders, as part of the NYU research component.

For the Master’s in Leadership degree at Saint Mary’s College of California I have worked in a program that builds towards a collaborative leadership style using skills and qualities that are personal as well as professional—the ability to envision positive change, establish mission and direction, elicit cooperation, and encourage both individuality and unity.

As an instructor in the Integral Studies Doctoral (ISD) program at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), I taught both face-to-face and online. I designed an online course, Indigenous and Traditional Worldviews, for a cohort of students in the ISD pro¬gram, and I also taught research methodology for the same group, helping them to develop their research proposals. Also at CIIS, as a teaching practicum, I co-taught a face-to-face course in Transformative Learning and offered an elective course on Improvisation.            

UNDERGRADUATE
I taught mathematics in the Bachelor of Arts Completion (BAC) programs at CIIS and Saint Mary’s College.

I have been an instructor in Geometry and beginning Trigonometry (Euclid’s Elements and Ptolemy’s Almagest).

I am a facilitator for Liberal Arts Seminar courses at Saint Mary’s College. While the focus is developing critical thinking skills, I am also responsible for helping students bridge their differences in learning styles and abilities, and in helping them grow to an authentic ownership of their interpretations of the texts.

I have designed and taught an elective course on Improvisation at Saint Mary’s College.        

CONFERENCES/WORKSHOPS
I developed and collaborated with improvisers from four different disciplines to present a performance/panel called “Perfecting the Moment: A Cross-Disciplinary Look at Improvisation” at Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California.

I have facilitated a workshop, “Improvisation, A Lesson in,” at the 2nd Annual International Transformative Learning Conference at Dominican College, San Rafael, CA.

I have presented at the Adult Education Research Conference in Northern Illinois University.       

ENRICHMENT
As a poet with CPITS (California Poets in the Schools), bringing poetry to K-8 students.

As a participant in the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music education program in the public schools.

Working with older teens in GED programs.

As a private math tutor for a range of ages—from middle school-age students to adults who have begun seeking a graduate degree.