Associate Pedagogy Fellows

Robert Bednarczyk’s primary role is instructing biology non-majors as part of the General Education Requirement in Biological Sciences as part of The Core. He also participates in instructing biology non-majors that are interested in the health professions as well as biology majors. Examples of courses that he teaches include "Inquiry-based Exploration of Biology" that focuses on the theme of infectious disease and a topics course called "Biology and Epidemiology of Cancer." He also co-instructed an elective course for biology majors titled "From Diagnostics to Therapy: The Application of Translational Research in Cancer." His pedagogical goals as an instructor include but are not limited to assisting students in the development of learning and critical thinking skills; establishing an inclusive learning environment; and promoting student engagement. These pedagogical goals continue to evolve as he does as an educator. What Robert enjoys most about UChicago students is their enthusiasm to learn no matter what their academic area of focus. They are highly motivated, and each student brings a unique perspective to be shared in class. As an instructor, he teaches his students, but reciprocally, he learns from them with each course taught allowing for an enlightening experience for all.

Andrew Brandel is an anthropologist who teaches in the Social Sciences Collegiate Division, primarily in the Democracy and Classics of Social and Political Thought Core sequences. For the past decade, he has focused on teaching interdisciplinary seminars that draw on a diverse range of intellectual and political traditions and emphasize the development of critical reading, writing, and thinking skills. He encourages his students to see themselves as actively involved in the process of knowledge production and to continually reflect on what they stand to learn from a deep engagement with challenging texts and ideas, especially when they disagree with their authors. For Andrew, the most exciting thing about working with students is helping them to strengthen their own voices while learning that this only happens in the company of others. 

Subhadip Chowdhury is a Neubauer Phoenix STEM Assistant Instructional Professor in the Department of Mathematics and the Physical Sciences Collegiate Division. His teaching centers on active discovery-based learning and transparent grading practices that reward persistence through structured reassessment. He also coordinates the Collaborative Learning tutorial program in the Math Department and provides professional development for the Lead Junior Tutors and Graduate Student Lecturers. He is currently interested in how generative AI is changing the intellectual practices at the heart of undergraduate mathematics. 

Jean Clipperton sees the classroom as an empowering place for students to learn challenging content and apply a growth mindset. She incorporates active learning exercises and uses specifications grading to assess learning. Jean works to meet students where they are, and to help them work toward content mastery in a way that calls upon their backgrounds, skills, and interests. Learning can be simultaneously challenging and enjoyable and she tries to model that in the classroom. 

Sara Dallavalle teaches language and culture courses in Italian, coordinate the first-year Italian sequence, mentor graduate instructors, and help organize cultural events for the Program. She sees language learning as a living process, and she strives to create classrooms where students feel both challenged and inspired to use Italian in meaningful ways. She enjoys experimenting with project-based activities and drawing on films, comics, music, social media, and contemporary literature to bring today’s Italy into focus. What she values most about teaching UChicago students is their curiosity and willingness to think critically, which pushes her to keep her courses fresh and engaging. Building on her background in popular culture and translation studies, she has also created courses on comics that invite students to explore Italian history and society through a lens they are not usually accustomed to, opening up new ways of reading and interpreting across cultures. 

Sarah Johnson taught her first class at Chicago in 2008 as a teaching intern in the Social Sciences Core. Since then, she has taught in the Classics of Social and Political Thought sequence many times, first as a graduate-student lecturer and then as a Harper-Schmidt Fellow in the Society of Fellows (2017–20). Although she continues to teach in this sequence, her primary teaching responsibilities are now in the Law, Letters, and Society program, an interdisciplinary major in the Social Sciences Collegiate Division. Most of her courses focus on law and political economy, including the two-part Theories of Capitalism sequence that she designed for the program. In addition to teaching these courses, she oversees the program’s thesis requirement and developed the curriculum for its BA Seminar. She is keen to learn more about effective research instruction. 

Lisa Rosen’s research focuses on the relationship between education and social inequality and the social context of urban schooling. She is co-author of The Ambitious Elementary School, a 2017 book which examines a radical new model for elementary school organization that approaches the social causes of educational inequality head-on. As Director of Instructional Programs in the Committee on Education, Dr. Rosen is involved in the design and academic administration of the Committee’s curricular offerings at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. These programs include an undergraduate minor in Education and Society and a certificate program for MA students. She teaches discussion based, seminar-style courses for both undergraduate and graduate students, including “Education and Social Inequality,” “Schooling and Identity,” and “Language, Culture and Education.” Her pedagogical goals include learning new techniques from her fellow Pedagogy Fellows, expanding her repertoire of strategies for assessing student learning, and deepening her capacity to support the professional learning of other instructors in the Education and Society program. She loves teaching the students who choose her classes because of the intensity and passion they bring to class discussions and their commitment to helping improve educational outcomes and opportunities for students from marginalized communities. 

Christopher Simon is a former Society of Classical Studies TLL Fellow, who received a PhD from Yale University following a project that explored how ancient thinking about language shaped the historiography of early Rome. He regularly teaches courses in Ancient Greek and Latin at all levels, as well as pedagogy courses for language instructors with a focus on ancient and pre-modern languages. In the Department of Classics, he collaborates closely with instructors throughout the language program, coordinate instruction across the introductory and intermediate language sequences, advise and mentor graduate student instructors, and oversee language placement in Ancient Greek and Latin.