My Teaching Philosophy
To find out more, click the dropdown menu on the right, or scroll down to view information on some of the specific courses I teach.
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I follow the pedagogy of learner-centered teaching (LCT) which argues that the learner is the primary focus of teaching practice. This means putting the learner’s needs at the center of teaching practice, rather than focusing on the instructor’s needs. The learner is the center of attention and the instructor is there to guide them in their journey for knowledge.
Active learning, where learners engage in interactive ways through assignments, case studies, and other methods, comprises another practice that characterizes how I teach in a classroom. I use the active learning practices in my undergraduate courses and they are especially applicable to how I would teach graduate courses as well.
When I lecture – which is sometimes unavoidable because of the nature of the subject matter to be covered or the number of students in the course – I use software and computer or phone applications to engage students in the material. I have used sources such as Google Chat, Socratic, and Kahoot.
Most importantly, I offer active learning and learner-centered teaching options for students, structuring my courses so that students learn by doing, so that they are actively engaged in the material, so that they have real-time experience and can see how new knowledge connects with their lived experiences as well as apply it to their present and future lives.
For more on this pedagogy style, see the drop down links for how I use simulations and case studies when I teach.
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Simulations and other interactive activities play a large role in most courses I teach. For example, I have taught Introduction to International Relations more than a dozen times, but the last seven iterations have included a simulation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in which students represent countries as delegates to address a crisis situation.
Case studies are another excellent teaching technique that I use consistently in my courses to make what we are studying come alive to students. For example, the last iteration I taught of my course on Comparative Politics used five case studies to introduce the different political, economic, and cultural systems of five countries to students. To prepare for each case study students delved into the historical, political, and economic specifics of each country and assessed government structures, foreign policy practices, cultural and societal systems, economic concerns, etc. Students then worked through cases presented to them in a particular context.
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This is a list of courses I’ve taught during my academic career, some of which are highlighted below.
Undergraduate Introductory Courses:
American Federal Government
Introduction to Global Politics
Contemporary Issues in World Affairs
Global Political Economy
International Relations Political Science
Western Cultural Traditions
Undergraduate Upper Division Courses/Seminars
Comparative Politics
Genocide and Human Rights
Genocide in Comparative Perspective
Global Political Economy
Governance in Africa
Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict
Politics of Development
Intro to Human Rights
Intro to Sub-Saharan Africa
Politics of Maritime Piracy
Participatory Development Politics and Practice
Technology and Development
US Foreign Policy
Research Methods
Senior Political Science Capstone
Pictured above: The United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Dr. O’Dell incorporates the ideas of international negotiation and diplomacy in many of her courses.
Pictured above: students with Dr. O’Dell after participating in the Fall 2022 iteration of the Introduction to International Relations course’s UN Security Council Simulation (posted with permission from all students).
Introduction to International Relations
Dr. O’Dell has taught Introduction to International Relations more than a dozen times. The course consists of formative and summative assessments, active learning assignments, and a simulation built on scaffolded learning pedagogy. The course uses the O’Dell and Breger Bush’s textbook Global Politics: A Toolkit for Learners.
Students scaffold their learning throughout the semester to participate in the main assignment: a simulation of the United Nations Security Council. Throughout the course, students prepare to work together to address a simulated crisis. Through the simulation, students gain real-world knowledge of the practice and issues in international relations. Dr. O’Dell invites students from previous years to act as President of the UNSC and as speakers on the crisis issue.
If you would like information, guidance, or mentorship on implementing a simulation in your own course, please reach out to Dr. O’Dell using the Contact Form.
Two of Dr. O’Dell’s students received the Ethel LeFrak Outstanding Student Scholar of the Holocaust Award (and were published) for the papers they wrote for her Genocide in Comparative Perspectives course.
Genocide in Comparative Perspective
This upper-division course, offered to undergraduate and graduate students, consists of in-depth writing assignments, discussions, and an innovative research paper or project in which students grapple with issues of genocide.
The course combines theories and practice from the disciplines of political science, global studies, and sociology. What is more, Dr. O’Dell frames the course around teaching about genocide with the tools of empathetic engagement in understanding the experiences of survivors and victims of atrocities, identification of the reasons for humans committing atrocities, and the ability to spot the warnings of possible genocide.
If you would like information, guidance, or mentorship on teaching empathy as a framing structure in your own course, please reach out to Dr. O’Dell using the Contact Form.
Students in Dr. O’Dell’s Global Political Economy course participate in a simulation about international organizations (with a focus on the International Monetary Fund) to better understand the course material.
Global Political Economy
Dr. O’Dell’s Global Political Economy course introduces students to the actors, politics, historical and contemporary events, and decision-making procedures in the global market system. We analyze the production and trade of goods and services throughout the world, examined through case studies. We assess different types of economic systems and discuss the changes in globalization over the past two centuries. Using the perspectives of economic liberalism, mercantilism, and structuralism we consider how money and power is distributed throughout the global economy by analyzing state economic policies, development and underdevelopment, and inequality.
If you would like information, guidance, or mentorship on implementing a formative and summative assessments in your own course, please reach out to Dr. O’Dell using the Contact Form.
Dr. O’Dell’s students have submitted and been accepted to present their research in several forums including at the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honors Society Research Conference (Washington D.C.) and the Seton Hill Undergraduate Research Conference. Dr. O’Dell has also published articles with students, including one on the Model United Nations: See the Publications link for more.
Political Science Research Methods
Dr. O’Dell teaches political science and global studies research methods as an upper-division, capstone course. Students are guided through the process of creating an independent research project that includes creating an annotated bibliography, writing a literature review, and conducting independent research. At the end of the course, students pull their findings together and write an article that is primed for publication.
Further, as a capstone course, Dr. O’Dell provides advising and support to students as they prepare for graduate school or future careers. Students create and update LinkedIn accounts, create and update resumes, practice cover letters, and gain connection with alumni and career readiness resources.
If you would like information, guidance, or mentorship on implementing a research methods formative and summative assessments in your own course, please reach out to Dr. O’Dell using the Contact Form.