Peju Alfred

Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is fundamentally guided by a learner-centered approach to teaching. A learner-centered approach to me means the following practices - facilitating and moderating learning sessions in ways that nudge learners to reflect upon issues, evaluate and analyze problems and conceive and generate possible solutions; encouraging learners to reflect upon the what, why and how of learning; motivating learners to take agency and control over their own learning processes; building a community where collaboration, dialogue and diverse perspectives form the bedrock of our interactions; and finally, it means involving and engaging learners in building a self agency approach toward learning.

In relation to this, fundamental values which equally guide my approach to activities in the classroom are inclusion, safety, and trust. Inclusion because everyone deserves to be seen and heard. Safety and trust because dialogue and deliberation is a cornerstone for learning and unlearning, both of which can effectively take place in a space where all feel safe and trust the intention of the journey. In my personal experience as a learner, my most positive learning experiences have occurred in spaces where safety and trust were salient. Pulling from these positive experiences, I actively strive in my identity as a researcher, instructor and human to embody these principles.

Teaching Experience and Expertise

ASSISTANT LANGUAGE PROGRAM DIRECTOR (2024 - PRESENT)

INSTRUCTOR OF RECORD (2018 - 2024)

• FTV GER 325: The History of German Cinema (2 Sessions)

• GER 201: Intermediate German I (5 Sessions)

• GER 202: Intermediate German II (1 Session)

• GER 101: Beginner German (6 Sessions)

• GER 102: Beginner High German (2 Sessions)

TEACHING ASSISTANT RESPONSIBILITIES (2019 - 2023)

• FTV GER 325: The History of German Cinema (1 Session)

• GER 150A1: Becoming Multilingual (1 Session)

• AFAS 160A1: Traditions and Societies of the World: The Africana Experience (2 Sessions)

Publications and Written Work

Book Chapter |published | 2021

• Alfred, P., & Warner, C. (2021). Literary pragmatics and intercultural dialogue in the beginning language class: A study in social reading. In McConachy, T., & Liddicoat, A.J. (Eds.), Teaching and Learning Second Language Pragmatics for Intercultural Understanding (pp. 83-104). Routledge.

MA Thesis Project | Not published | 2020

• Raising Intercultural Consciousness through Literary Dialogue in a Second Language Classroom, Not published

Professional Services

• Assistant Language Program Director Department of German Studies (University of Arizona) | May 2024 - in progress

• Graduate & Professional Student Council (GPSC) Grant Reviewer (University of Arizona) | April 2024 – present

• Graduate Communities for Academic Fellowship and Efficacy (Grad CAFE) Peer Mentor/Community Leader | Spring 2024

• Graduate Student Representative Department of German Studies (University of Arizona) | August 2023–May 2024

• Ambassador for Open Dialogue — College of Humanities Fearless Inquiries Project (University of Arizona) | 2023 - present

• Second Language Multimodal Literacies (L2ML) Abstract Reviewer | January – February 2023

• Graduate student representative on the College of Humanities Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (COH JEDI -University of Arizona) | August 2022 — May 2023

• Volunteered and participated in the organization of the “2020 Intercultural Competence Conference” piloted by the Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL) in Tucson AZ | Jan 23 – 26 2020