The English Department Non-Tenure Track Faculty (NTTF) Committee does all kinds of good work. One good thing is their newsletter “In Addition…News from the English Department’s NTTF Committee.” One of the features of the newsletter, which is sent monthly to NTTF in the department, is a faculty profile, which they’ve agreed to let us share on the blog.

Interesting fact: This isn’t the first time we’ve featured Amanda on the blog. As a new faculty member, she was profiled in the summer of 2015. You can read that profile here.

What name do you prefer to go by? Where are you located?
I prefer to go by Amanda. I’m located in Eddy 112 (on the first floor.)

What courses do you teach at CSU? What (if any) courses have you taught before?
I taught CO 150 for two years as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. This semester, I am teaching three sections of CO 150 as well. When student teaching for Poudre School District, I taught 9th grade English, 11th grade American Literature, and Creative Writing.

What has been your greatest challenge here at CSU?
Because I am teaching a required course, I find that students come into this class at so many different ability and experience levels. It’s always a challenge to frame the material in a way that stimulates students who are performing at a higher level, but also to consider the students who are struggling with basic writing skills. I try to keep all of my students in mind, when I am planning my curriculum. This can oftentimes feel like a balancing act.

Describe your teaching style.
I try to create a space that is welcoming and fun, as well as challenging; classroom culture is important to me, and I feel that it has a significant impact on the learning process. Along similar lines, I attempt to draw connections content and the interests of my students. Beyond this, I work to be very clear about classroom and assignment expectations and to uphold the standards that I set on the first day of class. In doing this, however, I try to make myself available, so that I can offer support to students who need it. In this, I’d say I’m firm, but very approachable.

What accomplishments are you most proud of?
I am proud when I see my students improving from the first assignment to the last assignment. Also, I’m excited when I see my students rhetorically framing new issues and ideas, and independently considering how these concepts relate to the world at large.

If you could be any concept in rhetoric (or your field of study), what would you be?
Exigence: it’s what brings this kind of writing to life.

 

(Thank you to Tatiana Nekrasova Beker, TTRep on the committee, for interviewing Amanda.)