In my teaching I have always tried to keep in mind Plutarch's dictum that "a mind is a fire to be lighted, not a vessel to be filled." At Brown University I have taught Latin and Greek at the beginning and intermediate levels, as well as a course on Roman civilization, and assisted professors in courses on ancient literature, civilization, mythology, and language. These experiences have helped me form a successful philosophy of teaching as a collaborative enterprise requiring the engagement and effort of both the students and myself. I view teaching as an integral part of my intellectual and professional life as a scholar of the ancient world. My passion for the cultures, texts, and languages I study inspires students to learn about them with me, but equally important are the skills and techniques I have learned by watching my own talented professors, by refining my pedagogy in teaching programs, and by gaining experience in the classroom.

To teach students effectively I treat them not as an abstract "class" but as individuals, making sure that everyone is engaged and challenged, and ensuring that I present material in ways that allow everyone to understand it. For instance, in a course on Roman civilization I used PowerPoint presentations to make lectures more interesting and to reach students whose learning style is more visual than aural. Showing timelines and outlines of the material while I presented it orally helped students follow along, while presenting images of artifacts made the strange world of the Romans more concrete and accessible, and often spurred discussion. For an introductory Latin course I designed a website with online discussion groups in which students worked together on translations illustrating the grammatical concepts they were learning. I plan to expand my use of computers and the internet to enhance my courses, and I see great educational potential in emerging technologies such as podcasting. That said, the blackboard is still one of the most useful classroom tools, especially for ancient languages.

Whatever methods I use to reach students, I always strive to maintain a classroom atmosphere that, while serious and intense about learning, is also somewhat informal and friendly. My enthusiasm for the subjects I teach helps foster this atmosphere, and I also employ simple techniques to make a class more enjoyable. In the first week of some classes I have given a brief introduction to Roman nomenclature, after which students select names for themselves and for me, which we use in class instead of our real names. Such activities, while educational in their own right, add a necessary element of excitement into classes that are often perceived as boring (and are often under-enrolled), and many times I have heard my students using their Roman names around campus. By making classes more enjoyable, while keeping them academically challenging, I have spurred the interest of students to the degree that most of them have taken more courses in Classics, and many have encouraged their friends to do the same.

As part of my philosophy of teaching and learning as a collaborative endeavor, from the first day of class I make clear to students that I rely on their feedback. Formal student evaluations at the end of the semester can help improve future teaching, but they are useless for improving a class in progress. Thus, I seek active input from students in and outside of class. I always make sure that students find me approachable, and I emphasize my availability at any time to help with any aspect of a course. This accessibility helps both the students and me as a teacher, since I can gain insight into how the class is learning. I also get feedback from students passively, in homework, quizzes, and exams, which I view not only as a way to motivate students to study and review, but as an essential tool to assess my own performance. For instance, in an intermediate Latin class quizzes and in-class translations showed me that several students were having problems translating poetry, both from inexperience and from rusty grammar, and that even the most advanced students were having trouble with confusing vocabulary. To respond to this I developed a handout on confusing words in the Aeneid, began incorporating more grammar review into the class meetings, and instituted optional sight translation sessions. These sessions helped me diagnose the problems of the less advanced students and helped them learn the step-by-step process of translating Latin poetry, while also providing an extra challenge for several more advanced and highly motivated students. The extra time I spent holding these meetings proved well worth it, since most of the students continued with Latin at the advanced level.

Another way I set students up to succeed is by clearly stating my expectations, and how those expectations can be met. A detailed syllabus is one of the most useful tools in this regard, and I usually spend a substantial portion of the first class meeting going over the syllabus and making sure that it is clear to everyone. Similarly, I give students detailed rubrics for assignments so that they know in advance how I will evaluate their work, and my comments on their papers and exams reflect their performance in respect to these rubrics.

I have come up with many of the techniques described here on my own, but some I have learned by actively seeking to improve my pedagogy. For a certificate program in Brown's Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, I participated in a year-long series of lectures and workshops and an in-class observation by teaching consultants during which I was videotaped. I have continued my association with the Sheridan Center by serving as its graduate student liaison for the Brown Classics Department, and I look forward to continuing to improve as a teacher through training as well as the experience of teaching itself. Seneca wrote, "homines dum docent discunt." I find teaching one of the most intellectually satisfying parts of academic life, and I eagerly anticipate new challenges and opportunities in and outside of the classroom.