I began my career as a middle-school mathematics teacher in Rio Grande City, Texas, through Teach For America. Since then, I have spent more than two decades teaching across remarkably different contexts: middle and high school mathematics and physics, instrumental music, community college, undergraduate music history and theory, online and blended courses, and university seminars in subjects ranging from Latin American and Black American music to women in music, disability, and politics.
That breadth has shaped how I think about teaching. The particulars of good instruction vary enormously by discipline, modality, and student population. What has remained consistent for me is the importance of understanding what we want students to learn, designing meaningful ways for them to engage with that learning, and continually examining whether our approaches are working for the students actually in front of us.
As my career expanded from classroom teaching into faculty and academic leadership, I became increasingly interested not only in my own teaching but in how faculty learn from one another and how institutions support excellent instruction. My faculty development work has included culturally responsive and inclusive teaching, structured student engagement, online and blended learning, instructional technology, course quality, accessibility, assessment, and evidence-informed pedagogy. I have facilitated faculty learning communities and workshops, participated in teaching and learning institutes and communities of practice, and worked with faculty across disciplines on curriculum, assessment, and instructional improvement. That work has reinforced what I learned early as a teacher: meaningful improvement comes from identifying a real problem of learning or practice, engaging seriously with evidence and emerging scholarship, trying something thoughtfully, and learning from what happens.
Much of my current work centers on a question that has followed me from teaching mathematics to musicology to academic leadership: How can we preserve the depth and rigor of disciplinary learning while continually improving the ways students engage with, apply, and demonstrate what they know? I am particularly interested in authentic and applied learning: opportunities for students to use disciplinary knowledge to solve problems, create work, conduct research, perform, communicate with real audiences, or engage with communities and professional contexts. I am also interested in how artificial intelligence is changing teaching, assessment, and the kinds of knowledge and judgment students will need.
For me, these questions are connected. As information becomes increasingly abundant, disciplinary knowledge remains essential. But students also need opportunities to practice judgment, creativity, inquiry, collaboration, and the application of knowledge in contexts that matter. As an academic leader, I see faculty expertise as central to this work. My role is not to prescribe a single model of excellent teaching across disciplines. It is to help create the conditions in which faculty can engage emerging scholarship, learn from one another, experiment thoughtfully, examine evidence of student learning, and continually strengthen their practice.
My teaching experience has included:
Mathematics & Science: middle-school mathematics, algebra, geometry, precalculus/trigonometry, International Baccalaureate mathematics, and physics
Music & Humanities: music history, music theory, world music, Latin American music, Black American music, women in music, music and disability, music and politics, research seminars, popular music, and interdisciplinary humanities
Applied Music: wind symphony, jazz ensemble, piano, music technology, and conducting
Modalities: face-to-face, online, blended, independent study, ensemble, seminar, lecture, and co-taught courses
TEACHING MATERIALS
I’m happy to share the teaching materials included here and welcome their adaptation and use by other educators. Please feel free to use, modify, and build on these resources with appropriate attribution. I’m also happy to share additional materials when available. If you find something useful- or take it in a new direction- I’d be glad to hear about it.
Syllabi/Course Maps
Foundations of Western Art Music (History/Theory) I Syllabus
Foundations of Western Art Music (History/Theory) I Course Map
Foundations of Western Art Music (History/Theory) II Syllabus
Black American Music Syllabus
Women in Music Syllabus
Women in Music Course Map
Music and Disability Syllabus
Music and Politics Syllabus
Selected Assignments
Ars Nova Activity
Chord Progression Lab
Counterpoint Activity
Jazz/Baroque Activity
Polyphony Activity
Printing Press Activity
Variations Activity
That breadth has shaped how I think about teaching. The particulars of good instruction vary enormously by discipline, modality, and student population. What has remained consistent for me is the importance of understanding what we want students to learn, designing meaningful ways for them to engage with that learning, and continually examining whether our approaches are working for the students actually in front of us.
As my career expanded from classroom teaching into faculty and academic leadership, I became increasingly interested not only in my own teaching but in how faculty learn from one another and how institutions support excellent instruction. My faculty development work has included culturally responsive and inclusive teaching, structured student engagement, online and blended learning, instructional technology, course quality, accessibility, assessment, and evidence-informed pedagogy. I have facilitated faculty learning communities and workshops, participated in teaching and learning institutes and communities of practice, and worked with faculty across disciplines on curriculum, assessment, and instructional improvement. That work has reinforced what I learned early as a teacher: meaningful improvement comes from identifying a real problem of learning or practice, engaging seriously with evidence and emerging scholarship, trying something thoughtfully, and learning from what happens.
Much of my current work centers on a question that has followed me from teaching mathematics to musicology to academic leadership: How can we preserve the depth and rigor of disciplinary learning while continually improving the ways students engage with, apply, and demonstrate what they know? I am particularly interested in authentic and applied learning: opportunities for students to use disciplinary knowledge to solve problems, create work, conduct research, perform, communicate with real audiences, or engage with communities and professional contexts. I am also interested in how artificial intelligence is changing teaching, assessment, and the kinds of knowledge and judgment students will need.
For me, these questions are connected. As information becomes increasingly abundant, disciplinary knowledge remains essential. But students also need opportunities to practice judgment, creativity, inquiry, collaboration, and the application of knowledge in contexts that matter. As an academic leader, I see faculty expertise as central to this work. My role is not to prescribe a single model of excellent teaching across disciplines. It is to help create the conditions in which faculty can engage emerging scholarship, learn from one another, experiment thoughtfully, examine evidence of student learning, and continually strengthen their practice.
My teaching experience has included:
Mathematics & Science: middle-school mathematics, algebra, geometry, precalculus/trigonometry, International Baccalaureate mathematics, and physics
Music & Humanities: music history, music theory, world music, Latin American music, Black American music, women in music, music and disability, music and politics, research seminars, popular music, and interdisciplinary humanities
Applied Music: wind symphony, jazz ensemble, piano, music technology, and conducting
Modalities: face-to-face, online, blended, independent study, ensemble, seminar, lecture, and co-taught courses
TEACHING MATERIALS
I’m happy to share the teaching materials included here and welcome their adaptation and use by other educators. Please feel free to use, modify, and build on these resources with appropriate attribution. I’m also happy to share additional materials when available. If you find something useful- or take it in a new direction- I’d be glad to hear about it.
Syllabi/Course Maps
Foundations of Western Art Music (History/Theory) I Syllabus
Foundations of Western Art Music (History/Theory) I Course Map
Foundations of Western Art Music (History/Theory) II Syllabus
Black American Music Syllabus
Women in Music Syllabus
Women in Music Course Map
Music and Disability Syllabus
Music and Politics Syllabus
Selected Assignments
Ars Nova Activity
Chord Progression Lab
Counterpoint Activity
Jazz/Baroque Activity
Polyphony Activity
Printing Press Activity
Variations Activity
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