Teaching
My own unique educational journey and my experiences teaching diverse audiences throughout my time at UC Davis underpins my teaching philosophy. I have taught multifarious classes, both technical and non-technical, including research methods, programming in R, American politics, and have been an associate instructor for upper division classes on congress and legislative behavior. My educational outlook prepared me to be an exceptional teacher, mentor, and researcher because I view each research question, challenging situation, and instructional moment as an opportunity to share my love of learning and as an opportunity itself to learn.
The quantitative and qualitative evidence presented below demonstrates my record of success in teaching. My quantitative evaluations vastly exceed department averages, as noted below for instances where department averages are available. My qualitative evaluations are overwhelmingly positive comments left by students as reflected by the selection provided below.
Additionally, when the UC Davis political science department began running its own TA orientation and training for incoming graduate students, Professor Boydstun selected me to serve on the planning committee and instruct incoming graduate students on teaching strategy. I was responsible for crafting the orientation and training program that provided incoming graduate students with a foundation for success in teaching. As part of this role, I served as the primary graduate student instructor for the orientation and training program.
Below is a summary of my teaching experience. If you'd like to learn more about my philosophy of instruction please see my teaching statement linked below.
Associate Instructor, The University of California, Davis
POL 105: The Legislative Process
Summer Session 2021, Spring Quarter 2021, and Winter Quarter 2022
An associate instructor at UC Davis fully in charge of designing and teaching a course.
Pol 105 is about the U.S. Congress, the world’s most powerful legislative body and the center of American democracy.
Topics covered will include elections, legislative procedure, the committee system, the role of parties, and the health of our political system. By the end of this course, students should have a deeper understanding of each of these concepts and be able to apply them to current congressional politics.
Section Instructor, The University of California, Davis
Fall Quarter 2022 POL 02: Comparative Politics
Spring Quarter 2022 POL 051: Scientific Study of Politics
Winter Quarter 2021 POL 01: American Government
Fall Quarter 2020 POL 051: Scientific Study of Politics
Summer Session 1 2020 POL 051: Scientific Study of Politics
Section instructors teach twice weekly hour long sessions that focus on core concepts and skills relevant to the course. For pol 51 this means teaching 60 students how to code in R.
Teaching Assistant, The University of California, Davis
Spring Quarter 2022 POL 051: Scientific Study of Politics
Winter Quarter 2021 POL 152: Constitutional Politics of Equality
Winter Quarter 2021 POL 01: American Government
Fall Quarter 2020 POL 011A: America Decides
Fall Quarter 2020 POL 051: Scientific Study of Politics
Summer 2020 POL 051: Scientific Study of Politics
Spring Quarter 2020 POL 124: The Politics of Global Inequality
Winter Quarter 2020 POL 174: Government and the Economy
Fall Quarter 2019 POL 123: International Organizations
Spring Quarter 2019 POL 122: International Law
Winter Quarter 2019 POL 165: Media and Politics
Fall Quarter 2018 POL 144B: Russian Politics
Spring Quarter 2018 POL 100: Local Government and Politics
Winter Quarter 2018 POL 162: Elections and Voting Behavior
TAs provide general course assistance to faculty instructors. Duties include grading, meeting with students, running review sessions, proctoring exams, holding office hours, and lecturing when the primary instructor is unavailable.
Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness
The quantitative and qualitative evidence presented below demonstrates my record of success in teaching. My quantitative evaluations vastly exceed department averages, as noted below for instances where department averages are available. My qualitative evaluations are overwhelmingly positive comments left by students as reflected by the selection provided below.
Quantitative: Numerical Teaching Evaluations
Instructor
The forthcoming descriptive summary of evaluations are from courses where I was sole instructor of record.
Course Perceptions: “Please indicate the overall education value of the course from (1) poor to (5) excellent.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 56): 4.6/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (38/56)
Teaching effectiveness ratings are on the following five-point scale: (1) poor, (2) fair, (3) good, (4) very good, to (5) excellent. Summary teaching instruction ratings can be found below.
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“Please indicate the overall teaching effectiveness of the instructor.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 56): 4.7 /5
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Weighted department average: 4.1/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (42/56)
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“Please indicate instructor’s knowledge and command of subject matter.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 56): 4.8 /5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (46 /56)
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“Please indicate instructor’s openness to discussion and ability to stimulate it.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 56): 4.9/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (51/56)
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“Please indicate instructor’s availability for consultation.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 56): 4.8/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (51/56)
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“Please indicate effectiveness of style & methods of class presentations.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 56): 4.6/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (42/56)
Teaching Assistant
The forthcoming descriptive summary of evaluations are from courses with a discussion section component. In contrast to a conventional course, these courses require one hour of graduate-student led discussions regarding course material in addition to standard office hour meetings. For substantive courses, discussion sections typically involve a blend of additional lecturing and active learning student exercises.
Teaching effectiveness ratings are on the following five-point scale: (1) poor, (2) fair, (3) good, (4) very good, to (5) excellent. Summary teaching instruction ratings can be found below.
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“Please indicate the overall teaching effectiveness of the teaching assistant.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 621): 4.3/5
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Weighted department average: 4.01/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (340/621)
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“TA demonstrates knowledge and command of the subject matter.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 524): 4.5/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (341/524)
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“TA is well prepared for section.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 455): 4.5 /5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (315/455)
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“TA is effective in encouraging student participation.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 457): 4.4/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (287/457)
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“TA encourages students to express opinions and respects divergent points of view.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 449): 4.5/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (297/449)
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“TA is responsive to questions and student requests.”
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Overall weighted course evaluation average (𝑁 = 502): 4.5/5
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Overall Summary Mode: 5 (336/502)
Qualitative: Quotes from Teaching Evaluations
“Spencer teaches in a way that is accessible for all students. I always felt comfortable asking questions and felt that he explained pretty complex concepts in a way that we could all understand. I know I am not the only student that felt this way as there was always a handful of us that hung out virtually after live Zoom lectures to just chat with him and each other.” Student from POL 105: The Legislative Process, UC Davis was fully remote at the time.
“Spencer is so passionate about his job and you can tell that he truly cares about his students. He is by far, one of the best professors I've had at UC Davis and the Political Science PHD program is lucky to have him as a PHD candidate.”
“Kiesel was very helpful throughout this course by always providing good examples in and outside of Congress for us to understand the material and laws/policies in different ways.”
“The professor had constant discussions in his class, and the debates he held were a fun way of making sure we understood the basic concepts enough to be able to make and defend a well-reasoned argument”
“POL 105 became my favorite political science course to-date because we had regular class discussions/debate about relevant policies. It made me very engaged with the material.”
“Responsive to emails and canvas messaging”
“His organization throughout the quarter was spot-on, and when there were changes or errors he always communicated quickly and accommodatively.”
“I now understand Median Voter Theory thanks to Spencer's King Kong vs. Godzilla example. I believe this can be classified as edutainment. :)”
“Amazing instructor! Made lectures interesting and engaging, fostered discussion and questions among the class, and overall taught the material in an accessible and thought-provoking way”
“Spencer was one of the better TAs I've had at Davis. He knew what he was teaching and was always open to helping students.”
“The TA clearly understands R Studio inside and out.”