Classes I’ve taught
and classes I’d love to teach
Purdue University
First-year Composition
First-year Composition Online
Intro to Creative Writing
Future University
Screenwriting (intro & advanced)
Rhetoric and style
Copyediting and document design
Materials from Class
The Senate
The Senate is an in-class exercise designed to give the students first-hand experience with rhetorical strategy.
First-Year Composition Syllabus
My syllabus for First-Year Composition shows how I balance pragmatism with creative exploration.
Intro to Creative writing syllabus
Teaching Intro to Creative Writing is one of my joys. It’s an excellent opportunity for students to expand their perception of the world and themselves.
The Coronavirus presented a challenge to all of us but it was an especially difficult challenge for students. As such, I tried to make their transition to online classes as clear and simple as possible. My response had three parts.
Email only essential information
Prepare and publish my materials early
Digitize my lessons for ease of access
My communication strategy
My first step was compressing the remaining class days into an asynchronous schedule and getting it to the students. I completed an amended syllabus and sent it out two days after the announcement was made.
My Coronavirus response
Discussion Assignments
I found online assignments to be an excellent opportunity to experiment with lesson design. Each exercise had to offer educational value without overwhelming the students.
Online video lectures
I wanted to still have a presence in the class during the quarantine, so I created weekly video lectures to give my lessons a little more humanity.
Evidence of Teaching Excellence
Student evaluations
Overall, how would you rate your professor
When I have a question or comment I know it will be respected
4.9 out of 5
4.8 out of 5
My instructor presents information effectively
Comments on my papers help me improve my writing.
4.9 out of 5
4.7 out of 5
Selected quotes
“Mr. Nellis is great at incorporating interactive activities into class to make the lesson more interesting and help students get a better understanding of the topic.”
“He is very comfortable to be around and allows for natural discussion as opposed to a forced discussion that happens sometimes when no one wants to participate.”
—Student responses to “what is something your professor does well?”
“Andy does an excellent job of turning [his rhetoric] lecture into an open discussion, asking students to offer examples of how “shifting the frame” happens in our culture, focusing specifically on topics that are particularly controversial/powerful. This yielded, in my opinion, a really insightful discussion among students about language used to create meaning (i.e. “border control” or “Make America Great Again”).”
—Purdue Instructor Observation
my Teaching Philosophy
Teaching English is about giving people the confidence and self-awareness to represent themselves and their ideas in the world at large. At the core of my teaching strategy are three key tenants: that every lesson be transferable to the outside world, that my students see the value in thinking critically and with unbridled curiosity, and that they learn to represent their own values and ideas as effectively as possible.
My classes are built on pragmatism. For better or worse, the world demands self-sufficiency, and so every lesson I teach is geared for real-world application. But I have found that it isn’t enough simply to design assignments with a career-focused lens. What’s most important is that the students believe me when I tell them my lessons are worth their time and attention. So, at the beginning of every unit, I dedicate a good amount of time to explaining exactly how and why our work relates to the world outside of college, going as far as to interview each student to better understand their aspirations. To aid me this process, I also like to reach out to leaders in the professional world in order to get their insights on writing, and so far I have gathered supportive quotes from the Chair of Medicine at Indiana University, Mark Geraci; the Director of the Lam Lab at Emory, Wilbur Lam; and the Head of the Wyss Institute at Harvard, Don Ingber; among others. I know that students are especially focused on success and so speaking with successful people carries a lot of weight. I also have plans in upcoming semesters to bring professionals who can speak to the class directly, which will help break down the imaginary barriers between academics and the world beyond.
But learning to write well, even in the professional realm, requires that a person learn to think freely and without fear, which is where creativity comes in. Exploring literature and completing creative projects allows students to loosen their grip on comforting preconceptions that they may have grown up with, like xenophobia or sexism. Creativity allows students to look at the world without the illusion of separation. Reading 1984, for example, allows students to question a science-phobic government without the domineering frames that their upbringing may have imposed on them. No amount of lecturing about the value of science will convince them of its value, but showing them a “fictitious” world allows them to consider that exact issue with much less reservation.
For creative writing lessons, where the students themselves are generating work, I take more of a guiding approach instead of a demonstrative one. I bring in audio samples of eerie soundscapes like those by Christopher Bissonnette and Ben Frost, I present students with disparate photographs—a Muppet, a gloomy forest, a wedding—and encourage them to explore their creative processes. It’s an approach that differs from some of my peers who believe an instructor can only teach the techniques of writing rather than the creative process itself, but I’ve always found the conversation appears nonetheless.
Every student is unique, rich with ideas and abilities, and it is my job to help those ideas shine. Rhetoric and strategic communication are central elements in all my classes, even creative ones, and learning how to wield rhetoric well is key to representing oneself with confidence. This is also one of my favorite parts of teaching English, especially composition classes, because it allows students one of the best opportunities to learn from each other. In the Spring of 2020 (before the pandemic hit) my class held an in-class debates over topics and angles that I assign at random, and although a debate may seem like a standard exercise, I am no less convinced of its value. Holding that in-class debate allowed the students to see the effectiveness of a strong argument. The students were free to use any rhetorical technique, ethical and unethical, to try and sway their peers towards their side and the results were fantastic. By the end of the two-week exercise, each student had sharp, first-hand experience with a rhetorical situation. This also resulted in some of the sharpest argument papers that I have seen in a first-year composition class.
More than anything, I want my students to be able to look back on our class as a sixteen week course in how to interact as an ethical, empathetic citizen. Beyond all my lessons and ideas, I want at the very least, to create an environment that fosters empathy and curiosity. When a student asks me a question that I cannot answer (a regular occurrence!), we explore the question as a group and by doing so we break down the fear of approaching the unknown. I could spend the entire semester trying to instill the idea of empathy and inquiry in them but I know that my students will remember my actions, and the actions of their peers, more than they will remember any single lesson or presentation. Many students all have different views of the world, but they should be able to look at their peers see fellow humans. And, if I can get them to do that, then they will be able to looking at other people with the same generosity.