Throughout my teaching career, I have taught all levels of undergraduate French language, literature, and culture. I have also had the opportunity to teach interdisciplinary courses in general education. (See Recent Courses to access the sample list of syllabi.) Penn State Altoona Franklin and Marshall College French language courses at F&M meet three days a week, with one additional weekly meeting with a French teaching assistant, who worked with the students under my supervision. The typical enrollment was 20 students. Advanced courses meet two or three days a week and enrollment ranged between 15 and 20 students. The University of Virginia I have seven years' experience teaching elementary and intermediate French language courses as a graduate instructor at UVa. I have also taught advanced conversation courses, an intensive intermediate grammar course, and a reading course for graduate students. The typical enrollment in the language courses is 21 and 15 in the conversation courses. As a graduate instructor, I was solely responsible for the courses I taught: duties included lesson plans and assignments, test generation and grading. In some cases, I have significantly redesigned a course. (See French 232 with electronic component.) Per semester, I usually taught either two sections of a course that meets three hours a week, or one section of a course that meets five hours a week plus a one hour a week conversation course, for a total of six classroom hours a week. I was also available for a minimum of two hours a week in my office for students seeking contact outside of class. (See Evaluations, no. 4). In addition, I have served in several administrative and leadership positions related to the courses I teach. I was the 2002 Co-Director of the Summer Language Institute in French at UVa with my colleague Candace Cone. This was a nine-week intensive immersion program that covers the material for four 3-credit courses in French language (101-202). Students had 6 hours of instruction per day, plus evening cultural activities, 5 days a week. After the first two weeks, all instruction and activities, whether in or outside of the classroom, were in French. As Co-Director, I was responsible for designing the program of study, supervising the teaching staff, selecting applicants for admission, and teaching the morning classes of the first half of the session. During my time as a graduate instructor at UVa, I often served as Course Chair, organizing multi-section courses, working with up to 9 other instructors, designing course syllabi and procedures, and leading meetings related to administration of the courses. Many of the instructors I worked with were new teachers or new to UVa; consequently, I frequently assisted in their training--providing additional guidelines and ideas, sample lesson plans, instructions on how to grade assignments and trouble-shooting techniques. This experience prepared me to take on the role of Co-Director of the Required Course Sequence in French during the Spring semester of 1997 with my colleague Candace Cone. In this position, I was directly responsible for all of the elementary and intermediate French courses offered in the RCS sequence. We supervised a teaching staff of 30, advised instructors and students on placement, scheduled and staffed the teaching roster for the Fall 1997 semester and worked with students who demonstrated special learning needs in language classes. Independent of the aforementioned positions, I also served on committees related to teaching--including textbook selection committees and instructional technology roundtables. These activities, though they occured outside of the physical boundaries of the classroom, directly supported my teaching as well as that of my colleagues. Finally, an important facet of my teaching responsibilities is my leadership and participation in teacher training workshops. At the beginning of each Fall semester, the UVa French Department conducts a one-week orientation for new instructors. I taught a variety of sessions regularly in this orientation. I have also led workshops that appeal to a broader community of teachers under the auspices of the Teaching Resource Center, the Arts and Sciences Media Center and the Center for the Liberal Arts at UVa. I enjoy leading workshops and benefit from sharing my ideas and experiences with other instructors. Such dialogs support and sustain my classroom and administrative experiences. (See Workshop Materials.) Regardless of the particular endeavor, whether teaching a course or directing a program, I believe that my most important RteachingS responsibility is to learn. (See Improvement and Goals). |