Cameron D. Lippard, Ph.D.
EVIDENCE OF QUALITY AND EFFECTIVE TEACHING
Teaching Experience
Over the last five years, I have thoroughly enjoyed my experiences as an instructor at
Appalachian State University (ASU) and feel that I have truly honed my pedagogical skills. I
also believe that my varied experiences of teaching introductory and advanced courses,
developing study abroad programs, and supervising student research projects have allowed me to
create a curriculum that is engaging and encourages critical thinking and application. As a
specialist in social inequality and research methods, I have prepared and taught 10 different
courses, representing a third of the courses offered regularly by the Department of Sociology.
These courses included introductory-level, discipline-specific, and writing-intensive courses for
sociology majors, including Research Methods I and II and Senior Seminar. My expertise in
social inequality has led me to teach upper level courses including Race and Minority Relations
and Social Stratification, which are dual-listed courses enrolling undergraduate and graduate
students across several disciplines.
In addition to the on-campus teaching, I have been successful in developing three study
abroad programs to Central Europe (primarily, France and Germany). These programs set up
opportunities for undergraduate students to examine race and ethnic relations and the
consequences of war in a global context. My study abroad programs have been particularly
rewarding because they led to interdisciplinary work with the departments of Foreign Languages
and History to study the societal impacts of war.
I have also had the privilege of conducting five independent studies that have focused on
various issues facing racial and ethnic minorities. In addition, I directed one undergraduate
Honor’s thesis and served as a secondary reader for two other Honor’s theses, as well as a
committee member for two Master’s theses outside of my department. Overall, these experiences
have been rewarding and I only hope to continue to as an educator at ASU. In the future, I hope
to introduce new genres to my discipline focusing on the study of immigration and social
movements.
Teaching Philosophy
In my experiences as a student throughout my life, the best teachers and mentors for me have
been those who have ruffled my feathers and challenged my beliefs. More important, they
encouraged me to think critically and to figure out ways to apply my knowledge to affect change.
I have used this inspiration to foster a teaching philosophy that focuses on creating an engaging
environment that encourages students to have a hunger for learning and scientific tools to
decipher the world with the goal of applying the knowledge obtained. As a sociologist who has
taught at the college level for nine years, I have created courses, study abroad programs, and
guided research projects that pushed students to apply and synthesize principles of sociology into
their already existing knowledge base. While I would contend that many students already have a
complex understanding of the world around them, it is my goal to broaden my students’ scope of
understanding and challenge them to analyze their surroundings from multiple perspectives that
may stand in opposition to their own. While I do not want them to shed their own milieu, I do
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want them to build on their experiences with new and relevant information. To accomplish these
objectives, I believe that it is important to provide: (1) an open and evolving classroom
experience, (2) assignments and projects that challenge and encourage students to apply
their knowledge, and (3) productive relationships with students to encourage open debate
and dialogue.
1. Open, evolving classroom experience. As any teacher will attest, the classroom is a delicate
orchestration of developing rapport, disseminating knowledge, and boosting skill acquisition that has
to happen within a short amount of time and can be lost with one small misstep among a critical
audience. I also find that since my courses cover controversial or sensitive subjects like racism,
immigration, domestic violence, and war that I have to create a welcoming but safe classroom for
honest and informed discussions. To accomplish this, I change the seating arrangements to encourage
discussions or arrange students into small discussion groups for larger classes. I also use relevant
music, documentary clips, ice-breakers, and short debates before diving into the day’s topics to get
students warmed up and focused. I feel that it is important to build student ownership of the course;
so, I have students develop their own set of classroom etiquette and discussion rules early in the
semester.
2. Innovative Assignments. I believe that in order to make a classroom engaging, teachers have to
employ a number of teaching styles and classroom activities to address varying student learning styles
and to maximize comprehension. For instance, while a lecture is an essential tool of education,
students in my classes better grasp information with open discussions and facilitated debates. I also
find that interactive examples including games, internet research in class, guest speakers, or short
field trips to various locales to observe behaviors really drive home complex concepts and theories.
For example, on several occasions, I have had Latino immigrants volunteer to come to my race
relations class to discuss the processes of migrating and the discrimination they have faced while
living in the U.S. Another example is the use of Monopoly to teach about social stratification in
introductory courses. Another course assignment I use is having students build a cost of living budget
with less $12,000 a year (the official poverty threshold income of one individual). This assignment
helps students grasp that poverty is a social problem and not just people making bad financial
decisions.
Other examples of assignments in the upper-level courses I have used focus on a particular concept or
honing student research skills. For instance, in my Research Methods courses, students have to
develop their research skills by learning various research methodologies. For each of these classes,
students have to develop a comprehensive research proposal and practice collecting data using
various research techniques including surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. To show the
impact of media on one’s values and beliefs, students in my Gender class analyze popular media to
note how it perpetuates stereotypes about women and men in America or around the globe.
While writing and research assignments are important, I also think that students need exposure to how
sociology can be used to solve real world problems. To provide an opportunity for this, I have
employed several experiential-learning assignments. For instance, students in my senior capstone
classes conduct research for community agencies or organizations. I also have students in my Race
and Minority Relations courses create a group activist project in which they address a racial injustice
or develop an awareness campaign for a topic in the local community. Groups have developed ESL
courses for immigrants, created charity organizations to combat hunger and violence in minority
communities, and developed and facilitated educational programs on racial diversity and tolerance at
local public schools.
3. Productive student-professor relationships. The final element that I found important for meeting
my goals of fostering a passion for knowledge and application is productive student-professor
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relationships. As a sociologist who often works in communities who fear outsider intervention, I have
learned that developing a relationship based on trust and mutual respect is pivotal. I also find this to
be true with students who need a professor who is not only a teacher but someone who can be trusted
to mentor them through their academic and professional careers. To encourage rapport and trust, I
first see teaching as reciprocal. I believe that my students bring knowledge and experiences to the
table and I view them as invaluable sources of information. I also have discovered myself soaking up
my students’ suggestions to develop more thought-provoking and contemporary arguments for topics
that tend to be too dry, such as theory. On many occasions, students have taken it upon themselves to
find relevant information to help me understand their ideas. For example, some students have brought
in music, movie clips, and newspaper articles that provided further explanations about certain topics. I
also constantly solicit feedback from students about the course material and frequently ask students to
complete anonymous evaluations outside of the university requirements to continuously assess my
performance.
I find the process of mentoring students doing research very rewarding. I have served on a number of
undergraduate Honor’s and graduate Master’s theses and directed independent studies in which
students developed and executed topic-specific research agendas. Probably the most rewarding
mentor experiences have been assisting students in applying for internships and graduate school.
Here, I help them do research on their future career choices and love when I receive a note or e-mail
about their successes.
Three Indicators of Effective Teaching
Three indicators that highlight my teaching effectiveness at ASU are: (1) formal evaluations of
my teaching by students and colleagues, (2) my abilities to teach a diverse set of courses
and use various teaching styles, and (3) my efforts to work with others to develop an
innovative curriculum that meets student needs.
1. Evaluations
Before arriving at ASU, I taught at Georgia State University and Augusta State University. Both
of these institutions encouraged excellence in teaching and I was recognized as an outstanding
teacher by students and peers at both institutions. However, when accepting a position at ASU, I
understood that this institution had a reputation and dedication to excellence in teaching that far
exceeded the requirements I had previously experienced. In fact, I chose to take a position at
ASU because of this high standard and it has been an honor to be counted among so many
talented instructors. With this level of excellence in mind, I believe that there are three indicators
that demonstrate that I have kept up with this strong and important tradition at ASU: (a) I
received the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award in 2010, (b) I have
continued to have above average student evaluations of my courses and teaching, and (c)
my peers consistently rated me as an important asset to the department as a teacher.
a. Outstanding Teacher Award. While at ASU, I have received recognition from colleagues outside of
my department. In 2009, the College of Arts and Sciences inducted me in the Academy of
Outstanding Teachers. This academy recognizes teachers who have excellent abilities in imparting
knowledge and encouraging academic growth. In 2010, the College of Arts and Sciences named me
the Outstanding Teacher of the Year based on peer and student recommendations (see Nomination
Letter in the Artifacts Binder). This was truly an honor, especially since ASU has so many gifted
instructors. I was also nominated two years in a row by students as an outstanding advisor in the
College of Arts and Sciences for my dedication to mentoring students through their academic careers
(see Outstanding Advisor Letters in the Artifacts Binder). In short, I believe that these recognitions
attest to my excellence in teaching and commitment to the university’s goals to provide a quality
education to our students.
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Cameron D. Lippard, Ph.D.
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b. Student Evaluations. From the Fall 2007 to Spring 2012, my student evaluations have been excellent
(see Summary of Teaching Evaluations in the Artifacts Binder). For instance, on a scale of 1 being
poor to 5 being excellent, my ratings as an instructor and the rating of the course content have
consistently scored above the Sociology Department’s mean scores (4.6 and 4.3, respectively) and
suggest that I am an excellent instructor who provides exemplary courses. I also scored above
departmental mean averages on individual evaluation items including that I was well organized and
prepared, I treated students with respect, I was helpful when students had difficulty, and I encouraged
a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives. In addition, students have commented that I am
“passionate,” “knowledgeable,” and that I “make [them] think outside the box and want to find
solutions.” If there is a trend in criticisms, students have mostly suggested I have too many course
assignments or that they did not like participating in group activities or projects. Because of the nature
of topics I cover such as discussing the continued issues of white racism, I sometimes get comments
that I’m too opinionated. I do take these criticisms seriously and have tried to delineate clearer
expectations of the course, assignment expectations, revised or deleted assignments, and discussed
ways for students to better manage class work. I also understand that it is impossible to make all
students happy but still encourage them to openly discuss problems they have with the course content
or me.
Despite some constructive comments, I have done well on my student evaluation scores for courses
that cover sensitive topics. For instance, I have taught Race and Minority Relations every semester
during my employment at ASU, a course with material that is very difficult for students to discuss
and brings out frustration and anxiety. However, my overall evaluation scores remain well above the
department mean at around 4.5. Students have also provided several positive comments including that
I am “passionate but real on the subjects,” “made learning and discussing the topics fun,” and I create
“an open and non-threatening environment for discussion.” One student even stated, “[I] really loved
the topics and the way it was presented stimulated critical thinking – every student should be required
to take this course.”
I have had similar success with writing and research intensive courses. For example, I have taught
Research Methods I where I received higher than average ratings. Students have historically reported
that they dislike this class because it is the first time they are exposed to doing research and rigorous
scientific writing. However, I have received comments that suggested that I “made learning exciting,
even when the material wasn’t,” “explained and guided us through every step of every process
wonderfully,” and that the course was “practical and I can see now how research is important.” I have
also taught the department’s senior capstone course that requires an original research project. Again,
while students do not generally like this class because of the writing requirements and research
project, students gave me higher than average scores on the instructor (4.7) and the course content
ratings (4.6). Comments included, “a very engaging professor who always encourages us to think
critically” and “I would even come to this class even if there was no attendance policy, he makes it
interesting, fun, and I’m better prepared for the world because of it.”
c. Peer Evaluations. I have received excellent ratings from my peer teaching evaluations over the last
five years (see Peer Evaluations in the Artifacts Binder). Consistently, each evaluation has rated me
as being strong in my knowledge of the subjects taught, being prepared for class, and clearly and
effectively communicating with students and meeting their needs. These reviewers have also
commented that I am a “passionate about teaching,” I “belong in the classroom,” and that I
“successfully tackle controversial subjects to bring about open discussion in a safe environment.”
They have also commented that they liked the classroom activities I used to clarify important points,
which gave students a chance to apply abstract concepts. They also suggest I have a first-rate rapport
with students.
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Cameron D. Lippard, Ph.D.
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In addition to peer evaluations, I have regularly received positive comments from my Department
Chair (see Annual Reviews in the Dossier Binder). In 2008, Dr. Folts mentioned in my report that he
had received several positive comments from students about my classes. In 2009, he noted, “Your
student evaluations [are] well above departmental means and I have received several positive
comments from students about your informal advising and mentoring activities. Taken together, these
indicate a commitment to our students that is admirable.” From 2010 to 2012, Dr. Folts has continued
to note my excellence in ratings and my continued commitment to our department’s goal of providing
an exceptional education to our students.
2. Diverse Instruction
Another indicator of the quality and effectiveness in my teaching has been my ability to
successfully develop and manage: (a) a diverse set of courses and (b) a variety of teaching
styles and original assignments to address student needs.
a. Diverse Set of Courses: I have taught ten different courses while at ASU, which represents about a
third of the courses offered by the Department of Sociology (see sample syllabi in the Artifacts
Binder). I have had to develop these courses to address a range of student learning styles and levels.
For instance, I have taught Social Problems in American Society several times, which required
introducing sociological concepts, theories, and research to mainly freshmen who were new to college
and sociology. As mentioned above, I have also taught courses developed specifically to provide
important research and writing skill sets to sociology majors, including Research Methods I and II
and Senior Seminar. While students are sophomores, juniors, or seniors at these courses, these classes
present abstract concepts about conducting scientific research and require them to write in a specific
scientific fashion, excluding personal opinions and first-person accounts. For the first time, many
students in these classes have to present their work to an audience, which is frightening but necessary.
I have also taught several topic-specific classes covering race and ethnic relations, gender, social
stratification, urban sociology, and war. All of these classes required me to become an expert in the
various research and literature associated with these topics. Although developing all of these courses
takes time, I believe it has made me a better instructor in sociology because I now have a wide range
of knowledge and set of pedagogical tools to use in almost any course possible.
b. Varieties in Teaching Styles and Assignments. Because I have taught several different classes, I
have found that I have to use different styles of delivery and innovative assignments to help students
grasp the concepts and give them creative spaces to apply their knowledge. Over the last five years, I
have used a number of formats for my courses. Although it is almost inevitable that professors use
traditional lectures to get some information across to students, I find that sociology courses demand
space for discussion and debate. Therefore, I have styled many of my classes, even introductory
courses with 60 students, to be in a seminar format. With this format, I have open and informative
discussions with my students on various current events and concepts, and provide in-class activities
that allow small groups to wrangle abstract concepts. For example, in my larger introductory courses,
while I use lectures more, I do schedule topic debates about policies to address poverty, immigration,
and the impact of sexual violence on women so students can digest these intimidating subjects. The
seminar format is extremely helpful for research and writing intensive courses where I have writing
workshops, data analysis reviews, and peer editing sessions to help students digest large writing
assignments like a research paper or project.
I have also used a number of short assignments, activities, or games to bring concepts to light for
students. In my larger courses, I find that quick demonstrations using cookies to represent wealth
distribution in America helps students grasp the notion that wealth is an important concept in
understanding economic problems today. I also find that using short writing assignments (less than
two pages) or creative projects help students relate abstract comments to current events. For instance,
one concept all sociology students need to understand is what sociology does for its users. Therefore,
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I asked students to use photographs, poetry, songs, or popular media to show me how the sociological
perspective informs us on current event topics. With this assignment, students get to be creative and
think critically about various topics including suicide, abortion, immigration, and unemployment.
Another style of delivery I use is community-engaged research or activist projects. Often, my students
learn about the social problems of the world and want to develop ways to apply their knowledge and
skills to create solutions. For many of the upper level courses, I require a combination of research and
activism. For example, in my Race and Minority Relations course, students conduct in-depth research
projects in which they interview people about their attitudes towards race relations or compile
existing data to examine whether racism is a still a problem in various social institutions. Students
also work in groups to develop an “activist project” in which they attempt to make communities
aware of the impacts of racism in various settings. My senior capstone courses have also used
community-engaged scholarship as a way to engage students. Each semester I have taught this course,
students had to develop either individual or group research projects that addressed a social issue that
existed in the immediate community. For instance, one class examined the issues of affordable
housing and another helped a local non-profit organization research whether there were youth gangs
in the area. This required the students to interview key informants and residents, collect and analyze
statistical data, and present their findings to town and county officials. These projects showed
students the linkages between their degree and how it could impact change. As one student wrote,
“Now I know what to do with my degree and I get sociology and its importance.”
One other unique way of providing students with tangible and contextual applications was having
them participate in study abroad programs. One of the major goals at ASU is to have students not
only apply their knowledge but to understand the local-to-global impacts of their decisions on the
world. I have successfully led three study abroad programs to Central Europe. The first experience
introduced students to how Europeans view race, ethnicity, and immigration. During this trip,
students were able to meet with people and organizations who were currently working to address
immigration issues in France and Germany. They also went to Jewish Holocaust museums and
concentration camps and met survivors. The other two programs focused on the social impacts of war
in Europe. Working with an interdisciplinary team comprising of history, foreign languages, and
sociology, we visited several locations, organizations, and museums to see how World War I, World
War II, and the Cold War impacted Belgium, France, and Germany. Students also created
interdisciplinary video documentaries on how Europeans commemorated warfare. As suggested in
my program evaluations, students suggested that these programs “changed their lives” and provided a
new global perspective.
3. Curriculum Development
The last indicator of my teaching effectiveness is my commitment to curriculum development.
As suggested throughout this document, I love teaching but understand that it has to evolve to
meet student needs. I also understand that one should be involved with curriculum development
to grow as an effective teacher. I believe that my involvement at various levels of curriculum
development attests to my abilities, which include: (a) attending professional workshops and
conferences on pedagogy, (b) revising my department’s curriculum, and (c) assisting
college and university efforts to create a new curriculum for 21st century students.
a. Professional Workshops and Conferences. I believe that good teaching requires continued training.
I have attended several teaching seminars and research paper sessions in the last five years at national
and regional sociology conferences. I have attended university workshops on how to use new
technologies in the classroom such as online modules to manage classes such as Moodle and WebCT.
I have also participated in writing and assessment workshops to learn how to create learning outcomespecific assignments. I have also had the privilege of serving as a panelist for sessions focusing on
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Cameron D. Lippard, Ph.D.
EVIDENCE OF QUALITY AND EFFECTIVE TEACHING
teaching sensitive subjects, how to encourage writing in the discipline, and how to use online modules
and tablet PCs in the classroom.
b. Sociology Curriculum. I have been heavily involved with helping to revise and reshape the
Sociology Department’s undergraduate curriculum. Over the last five years, I have served as a
committee member on the Curriculum Subcommittee, which has tackled the issues of streamlining
our major’s programs of study and creating new courses to address shortcomings. This committee
also worked to revamp the internship process, as well as advising issues. I have worked as the
Department’s liaison to the University’s Writing across the Curriculum office to encourage
innovations in writing assignments. Dr. Brad Nash and I also spearheaded the Department’s efforts to
integrate our courses into ASU’s new General Education curriculum that began in 2009. Finally, I
have served as the Chair to the Department’s Assessment Committee since 2009. This committee has
been responsible for conducting the assessment of student learning objectives and outcomes for
SACS reaccreditation. Although a difficult task, I have found this service to be very informative in
understanding how students digest their education and have made me reconsider the ways I approach
my courses and delivering the content.
c. College and University Curricula. Since I arrived at ASU, I have worked closely with
curriculum development at the college and university levels. In 2008, ASU began crafting a new
General Education program that required faculty to think of inventive ways to bring about a cuttingedge liberal arts education. Since its inception, I have served in a number of key roles to assist my
department and the University in fitting into this new system. First, I worked to propose a number of
sociology courses to be included under the new curriculum. Since 2009, I have served as a Theme
Coordinator in which I helped faculty develop courses for the Cultural Diversity theme and assisted
faculty members in proposing courses for inclusion and theme integration efforts. I have also served
on the Faculty Coordinating Committee for the larger Historical and Social Perspective which
oversees several different themes, which include over 50 different courses across various disciplines.
Finally, I worked with this program to develop assessment tools and conducted various assessment
projects.
I have worked closely with the Writing across the Curriculum office at ASU. This office has been
charged to increase student writing competency across their university experiences. I have attended
several workshops on how to create writing assignments to push students to become confident
writers. In 2010, I was appointed by the Sociology Department as the Writing in the Discipline (WID)
Consultant, a role in which I worked with several other WID faculty members to develop ways to
teach writing in large classrooms (+25 students). We presented tips for teaching writing in the
classroom at a university workshop in which I discussed the necessity of clear assignment instructions
and management/grading strategies for writing projects.
Finally, I have served as an advisory board member for ASU’s Multicultural Student
Development office, which develops programs across the campus to encourage discussion, debate,
and exposure to cultural issues and lifestyles. Since 2008, I have helped to bring in a number of guest
lecturers, speakers, and activists to discuss issues facing non-whites, immigrants, the disabled, and the
LBGT community. I also worked to develop a Lunch and Learn Series that encouraged students to
come during their lunch hour to debate important issues on campus like stereotypes facing athletes on
campus, the display of the Confederate Battle Flag, misconceptions of Latino immigrants, and
tolerance of various religions.
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