Welcome to My Teaching Portfolio!

Hello and welcome to my teaching portfolio! I have created this website to showcase my experiences in teaching. As a current graduate student in the Communication and Rhetorical Studies department at Syracuse University, I have had the opportunity to develop my passion for teaching through a few different class structures, from teaching once weekly recitations to a position as instructor of record. In any future roles as a teaching assistant or graduate instructor, I hope to continue growing from the feedback I receive from my students and advisors.

Before I had the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant, I spent around four years as a private tutor, working with individual clients as well as two tutoring companies. I took the skills learned there with me into my role as a teaching assistant at Syracuse University, where I have been fortunate enough to assist with and teach three vastly different classes. Because I have had experience with teaching as few as one student and as many as 130 in various classroom environments, I have been able to develop my teaching philosophy across a variety of circumstances. Through these experiences, I have learned how to adapt my teaching style and tactics based on the subject, needs of the students, and size.

While at Syracuse University, I have worked as a teaching assistant for CRS 225: Pubic Advocacy and CRS 183: Concepts and Perspectives in Rhetoric, as well as working as the instructor of record for CRS 625: Oral Communication for Engineers. For CRS 225, I had the opportunity to teach three twice-weekly recitations, as well as guest lecturing the larger lecture. In this class, I was tasked largely with delivering content and preparing my students for their projects, which resulted in my teaching style largely relying on lectures and pre-established materials. CRS 183, in which I taught three once-weekly recitation courses in 2020 and two in 2021, has been far more discussion-oriented, which has allowed me to be more creative with my teaching style and activities. Finally, in CRS 625, I adapted the course for the digital environment, recording asynchronous lectures and leading discussion and practice exercises during a weekly 3-hour course. These very different classes have helped to refine my personal teaching style while also giving me experience adapting to diverse circumstances.

In addition to my teaching experience, I have had multiple opportunities to work as a mentor. In my undergraduate, I served as an Honors Mentor for three years, helping first-year students adjust to the school, the Honors College, and their coursework. I worked with around two students personally each year, but also worked with the Honors College to create programming and present on opportunities for research and study abroad provided by the College to larger groups, with generally around twenty students per session. I also served as a Student Ambassador for the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, which put me in a position to recruit new students, help current students thrive, and communicate with the administration about what needs were not being fulfilled. That job also involved creating the programming needed to connect the administration with the students. I have always loved bridging institutional gaps, and I find working with individual mentees extremely fulfilling. At Syracuse University, I have been able to continue that work as the graduate student representative for the Communication and Rhetorical Studies department, connecting grad students and faculty as well as doing my best to strengthen bonds between grad students during the chaotic semesters plagued by COVID-19.

This is only a small sample of the many experiences I’ve had that I believe have allowed me to grow as an instructor, and as a leader within my academic communities. The skills I’ve gained over my time as a teacher and a mentor have helped me to improve continuously with each class I teach. 

Please explore my teaching portfolio for a further look into my experiences as a teaching assistant at Syracuse University. You’ll find my teaching philosophy, CV, course descriptions and materials, and evaluations. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions at mabojars@syr.edu.