My approach to teaching has always been inseparable from my love for storytelling. In the history of humans, all knowledge used to be passed along orally, through stories, and there was practicality in this: stories are entertaining to learn and easy to recall. Today, though, the idea of incorporating facts into narratives often seems heretical; however, in truth, human curiosity is nothing more than the drive to learn the story of us—who we are, what’s around us, why we’re here.
When I teach, then, I do so through real life examples that make abstract examples concrete and practical for students. Relevantly, I strive to make students interested in the material itself, striving to apply the class content to how each student would utilize it in their own life Thus, using a combination empirically-based pedagogical techniques, in-class activities, student discussions, and of course, engaging narratives, I aim to inspire students to apply what they’ve learned to their future lives and ambitions.
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Trying to motivate class discussion? Check out my article on “Overcoming the Fear of Looking Dumb in Class“
Ohio State University (2015 – 2019)
Social Psychology & Writing (Undergraduate: Fall 2015; Spring 2017; Spring 2019)
- Served as the teacher on record for an undergraduate classroom of 30 students
- Designed and conducted lectures, tests, and assignments for a semester-long course on social psychology and the fundamentals of writing
- Held weekly office hours and provided in-depth feedback on essay composition
UNIVERSITY STUDENT RATINGS
Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI)
2015 Overall Evaluation: 5.0 / 5.0 ; OSU Average: 4.3 / 5.0
2017 Overall Evaluation: 4.6 / 5.0 ; OSU Average: 4.3 / 5.0
2019 Overall Evaluation: 4.8 / 5.0; OSU Average: 4.4 / 5.0
Social Psychology Pedagogy Course (Graduate: Summer 2018)
- Taught a summer-term, graduate course on the best practices of teaching
- Covered topics such as designing lessons plans, creating essay and multiple choice tests, how to effectively lecture, implementing active learning, dealing with problematic students, and more
- Reviewed empirical articles on the pedagogy of teaching to convey the most up-to-date approaches for teaching students
STUDENT FEEDBACK:
“One of the best classes in OSU (and the best instructor as well!) I don’t know learning Social Psych was that fun! Keep it up Jake. Like the slides show. They were all stimulating and nice to see, and easy to understand. The paper was tough but it is fair. I learned a lot from this class. Thank you for being a great teacher.”
“Jake made coming to class everyday worth it. He made a subject most people would say is confusing very simple yet challenging. He made us think but taught it in a way that made sense to the person who knew nothing about social psychology. His personality, hard work, and love for psychology and his students is a reason why he’s been my favorite professor during my two years at Ohio State. Thank you for a fun and informative class!”
“Great instructor and really went out of his way to teach in a more exciting/interesting way.”
“You should teach more, you’re pretty good at it.”
“I would have to say that Jake has been one of the best professors I have had. He is funny and provided examples that make everything understandable. He is tough on papers (which is good) but he was always prepared for class, excited to teach, and taught the class in a very intellectually stimulating way that always kept me interested.”
“Jake is the bomb. One of my fave instructors, better than a lot of professors I’ve had.”
~PRIOR TEACHING EXPERIENCE~
Daybreak Youth Services (2012 – 2013) Personal Tutor; Classroom Aide
- Personally tutored boys ages 13-18 at an in-patient facility for youths with drug or alcohol dependence issues
- Helped to academically prepare students to test for their GED
- Assisted in prepping and teaching a classroom of 10 – 20 boys on various subjects covered in high school
Gallagher Learning Center (2009 – 2010) Professional Tutor
- Privately tutored students (grades 1st – 12th) in all subjects (e.g., English, math, social sciences, etc.)
- Taught a bi-weekly class of 10 to 15 eighth graders, preparing them for their high school entrance exams
- Designed and taught a curriculum for Algebra I to middle school students