Teaching

As a teacher, Kristen wants to impart to her students the importance of using empirical evidence, cultural knowledge, and critical reflection to advance social change in all aspects of social work practice. She nurtures students to develop a radical imagination backed with rigorous practice to transform oppressive systems. In the classroom, she encourages students to apply their personal and professional experiences, unique positionality, and critical understanding of broader social structures as they interrogate each aspect of social work practice. Kristen aims to build an incubator where we all meet as learners regardless of our diverse perspectives and prior knowledge––working to grow and strengthen our skills to make the world we want to exist. Kristen has extensive teaching experience and is well-positioned to teach community practice, political social work, policy, research methods, and statistics courses.

Statistics & Methods

Applied Statistics in Social Welfare (Social Welfare 213B), Teaching Associate

This is a core statistics course designed to help students develop a basic understanding of descriptive and inferential statistical approaches. Introduction to statistical reasoning, with emphasis on how statistics can help us understand world. Topics include numerical and graphical summaries of data, data acquisition and experimental design, probability, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, correlation, and regression. Taught at the University of California, Los Angeles for Masters of Social Work (MSW) students in Spring 2020.

Using Data to Learn about Society: Introduction to Empirical Research and Statistics (Public Affairs 60), Teaching Associate & Fellow

This is an introduction to statistics through examination of topics of public interest. Familiarization with research design principles and hands-on data analysis using statistical software. Students learn how to find and organize quantitative data; summarize, display, and interpret data; draw inferences from samples (including understanding margins of error, standard errors, and confidence intervals); test hypotheses about associations between two variables (including tests of proportion, t-tests, chi-squared, correlation); and communicate findings to lay audience. Taught at the University of California, Los Angeles for Bachelors of Public Affairs students in Fall 2020, Spring 2022.

Using Quantitative Methods to Understand Social Problems and their Potential Solutions (Public Affairs 115), Teaching Fellow

This course is an introduction to multivariate quantitative research models used to answer questions in social science. Students gain practical and intuitive understanding of multivariate regression, program evaluation, and research methods, and apply knowledge by analyzing real world data. Focus on practical analytic tools using statistical software. Taught at the University of California, Los Angeles for Bachelors of Public Affairs students in Winter 2021, 2022.

Using Qualitative Methods to Understand Social Problems and their Potential Solutions (Public Affairs 116), Teaching Fellow

This course is an introduction to qualitative research methods with focus on ethnographic observations, interviewing, and focus groups. Students practice conducting variety of qualitative methods. Taught at the University of California, Los Angeles for Bachelors of Public Affairs students in Fall 2021.

Community Engaged / Applied Learning

Experiential Learning Capstone (Public Affairs 187A-B-C), Teaching Associate

In this year-long course for seniors, students apply public affairs course concepts and methods to internship experience; refine understanding of concepts and methods based on internship experience; gain new knowledge about specific topics related to their internship; and develop new skills needed to complete capstone project. Taught at the University of California, Los Angeles for Bachelors of Public Affairs students in Fall 2020, Winter 2021, and Spring 2021.

Theory

Foundations and Debate in Public Thought (Public Affairs 50), Teaching Associate & Fellow

This course is an introduction of core concepts of democracy and equality and challenges to implementation posed by race, class, and gender inequality. Review of standards by which political systems can be judged to be democratic and identification of obstacles to their mutual implementation. Focus on inequality, its historical causes and modern consequences. Taught at the University of California, Los Angeles for Bachelors of Public Affairs students in Spring, Fall 2021.