Outstanding University Graduate Student Teaching Award–Doctoral I
Jillian Joyce Kaufmann
- Earned a master’s degree in Communication from Illinois State University in 2017.
- Doctoral student in the School of Teaching and Learning and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Communication.
Teaching Philosophy
My role as a teacher is to help my students discover their own unique voice and learn that this voice has value and power.
The resource or person that has been the most important influence in my teaching career is
My fellow Graduate Teaching Assistants serve as a constant source of creativity, inspiration, and a sounding board for problems. We share ideas, brainstorm lesson plans, and help each other stay grounded on difficult days. I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such intelligent and imaginative instructors in the School of Communication.
I want to continue to improve my teaching in the following ways
I want to continue to incorporate critically and culturally relevant pedagogy in my classroom. I make it clear to my students that we may not all agree with one another's opinions and beliefs, but our classroom must be a safe space where we can wrestle with difficult ideas together. Although I facilitate conversations about race, gender, orientation, etc., these ideas are often brought in by students. I want to continue to explore ways to weave culturally relevant pedagogy throughout my course.
The best moment/event in my teaching career is
A few semesters ago, a Black student wanted to give a speech informing her audience about the history of the "n-word"; she talked to me about how that word had been hurled at her by a car full of students as she and her friends were walking near ISU's campus. She wanted to talk about the word's Latin roots, how it was morphed into an ethnic slur, and how it has been reclaimed by Black Americans. The speech was culturally sensitive, empathetic, and illuminating. Her speech showed many of the other students that they could take on large, daunting topics. Many students chose to cover topics related to race, mental health, and immigration, and I was able to facilitate conversations about these topics. At the end of the semester, I always have students give toasts to their fellow classmates. Many students told this young woman about how much she had influenced them and made them feel brave enough to speak about topics that were difficult, but important. I felt very honored to be their teacher.
