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Hillary Steinberg is a sixth year PhD student studying Sociology. Her research focuses on identity formation in pediatric patients in a major children's hospital. Hillary was recently awarded a Teaching Excellence Award based on her teaching philosophy and dedication to her students. We asked Hillary a few questions to learn more about her as a teacher and get to know her better. Read more below!

Please tell us a little bit about your pedagogical philosophy.

I found my teaching philosophy foremost on creating space through rigor, accessibility, and respect that allows for academic and sociological growth. I foster honest connections between and with students to promote critical thinking and enthusiastic engagement. My outlook on student success relies heavily on supporting students to maximize their potentials individually.

Do you have a favorite teaching resource you would like to share with other graduate teachers?

I'm a big fan of using clips from media for concepts and so the Sociological Cinema can be very helpful.

Do you have any recommendations for continuing or increasing student advocacy and engagement?

One thing I do is learn my students names very early on. I'll grade the first few assignments with their pictures up. I ask them to tell me their name when I call on them in class until I know them. This helps me to evaluate their work but also builds mutual trust between the individual students and myself.

What is a good book you have read recently and why did you enjoy it?

I read a lot of fiction so I'll give you my top three from recently: I liked The Family Fang which is about two adult siblings reckoning with their childhoods of being forced into the performance artists parents' pieces. A Little Life is the importance of love amongst friends and follows four of them, one of whom survived being abused as a child. The Maddaddam Trilogy is written by Margaret Atwood and is a apocalyptic look of the United States after capitalist environmental degradation.