Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

I am a passionate teacher who strives to challenge students to broaden their horizons, challenge their preconceptions, and develop their critical thinking abilities.

I aim to develop a collegiate, open and comfortable learning environment, facilitating discussion and debate. In return, I have high expectations for my students. The syllabi provide a gateway into the real-world application of scholarly theory and the opportunity to create their own questions on materials and real-world situations. I structure the learning environment with the goal of high engagement between myself and students, alongside inter-student engagement and network building.

I understand the importance of my role in the academic, professional and personal development of my students, and I hope to provide both skills and opportunities to pursue political science and to empower them to achieve long term success in their chosen domain.

Courses

Phil 103: Introduction to Ethics

Phil 470: Philosophy of Law

Pol 435: Politics of Developing Nations

Pol 103: International Politics

Teaching Assistant

Instructor

Guest Lectures

TAUGHT WORKSHOPS

Pol 474: African Politics

Pol 435: Developing Nations

USAID Quantitative Research Workshop: Introduction to R. Tamale, Ghana

USAID Quantitative Research Workshop: OLS Regression: Bivariate & Multivariate Modelling. Tamale, Ghana

USAID Quantitative Research Workshop: Introduction to Geospatial Mapping & Analysis in R. Tamale, Ghana

USAID Quantitative Research Workshop: Introduction to Social Network Analysis. Tamale, Ghana

Select Course Evaluations

Student Evaluations

“Will is a phenomenal teacher and communicator, and he is clearly very passionate about the subject and his program. As a TA, he always graded fairly and provided great support to his students. During the classes he led when Dr. Lewis was out, Will really demonstrated his teaching chops by captivating the class. He is a great combination of charm and expertise, and I believe he will one day make an exceptional professor. The university should definitely get him teaching classes to more undergrads, they will love him just like we all did!!!”

“the recent discussions have been very insightful… and couldn’t help but compare the impacts of leadership with my own personal life, it was extremely eye-opening reflecting back on the past… Overall, I have really appreciated the deep dive into my own experiences the discussions have allowed me to reflect on. Glad I have gotten the chance in some discussions to share some experiences and intertwine it with the overall lesson. It’s allowed me to answer my own questions about why some leaders act the way they do. Genuinely enjoying your class…”

“Always available when questions are asked and gave good answers and feedback on assignments. He was very good at driving discussions when teaching and opening up the class up to dialogue and then bringing the topic back to where it started and connecting our points to what he was teaching. This helps students to connect the discussions in class to knowledge they already had or things that were discussed in class.”

” I just hit ‘submit’ on my final exam, which happened to also be my final collegiate assignment. After a 33-year gap, I’m now graduating at age 55. I wanted to say thank you for your communication and grace during this course. Your tolerance for some technical challenges and life interruptions was wonderful and very much appreciated.

I also enjoyed the course a great deal, as it caused me to think more deeply about issues that I might normally gloss over in my safe, suburban life. Thank you, and cheers to you!”

“Great instruction, excellent communication”

“The Class was great”

“Great Experience”

Walk-in office hours are between 12.30pm – 2pm on Wednesday afternoons. Remote appointments are available by request online. Hours are given on a first-come, first-served basis.