→ Teaching
My teaching philosophy focuses on helping students critically examine how information practices have shaped culture and society. As a Pakistani American raised in Mississippi, I have firsthand experience of how methods of classifying, representing, and disseminating information create barriers that sustain social injustices. This motivates me to foster inclusive learning environments where students develop both technical skills and critical insights.
Approach
Two frameworks guide my course design: Backward Design and Transparency in Teaching and Learning (TILT). I start with clear learning outcomes aligned with Bloom's Taxonomy, then create diverse assessments—papers, computational projects, data visualizations—that promote understanding over memorization. TILT helps me clarify purpose, task, and criteria, which research shows is especially beneficial for historically underrepresented students.
This is particularly important in computational courses where students may feel intimidated by technical content. By making expectations transparent, I reduce anxiety and create space for intellectual risk-taking.
→ Mentorship & Leadership
I am committed to mentoring at all levels. As Director of Susquehanna University's Center for Teaching and Learning, I also extend my influence through faculty development and pedagogical innovation.
Student Mentorship
I currently advise nearly thirty undergraduate students, guiding them through independent research projects, career planning, and academic development. Many of my advisees pursue interdisciplinary work that combines technical skills with humanistic inquiry.
Faculty Development
As CTL Director, I lead multiple faculty development tracks spanning all career stages. Programs include the Provost Innovative Teaching Fellowship, which awards funding for pedagogical innovation, and structured mentoring for early-career and mid-career faculty addressing promotion preparation, service expectations, and professional development.
I facilitate technology integration workshops covering instructional evaluation frameworks and course development, along with faculty discussion series on contemporary challenges like classroom management and student support. I have also led campus-wide initiatives on AI integration in teaching, helping faculty understand both the potential and limitations of AI tools in education.
Additional programming includes workshops on neurodiversity, intersectionality, gender sensitivity, and cultural competency, as well as advising training in partnership with the Center for Academic Success.
→ Courses
I emphasize experiential learning through hands-on activities that combine technical skill development with critical social analysis.
Digital Media Analytics
Students create neural networks to explore racial bias in facial recognition systems, use GIS software to analyze the COVID-19 pandemic and historical geography of slavery, and conduct network analysis of political organizations to understand power structures.
Critical Approaches to Interactive Gaming
An honors seminar examining video games as cultural artifacts, exploring how interactive media shapes and reflects social values, identity, and power dynamics.
Qualitative Research Methods
Students learn ethnographic approaches, interview techniques, and content analysis methods for studying media and communication phenomena.
Essentials of Digital Media
A hands-on introduction to digital media production. Students learn video editing, web development, audio production, and presentation skills while working as teams to create projects for a simulated marketing agency.
History of the Information Age
Students explore embodiment through virtual reality, analyze human-computer interactions with 3D motion and gesture controllers, and hack Super Nintendo cartridges to examine the materiality of digital media and fan cultures.