Teaching at Yale
Fall 2021. Japan and the World, Professor Frances Rosenbluth
Co-taught with Professor Frances Rosenbluth, this seminar course for graduate and undergraduate students surveyed Japanese government since the Meiji Restoration, as well as topics and characteristics of modern Japanese politics. Full anonymous evaluations here.
Select evaluations:"Colin was an excellent TF, perhaps one of the best I have ever encountered at Yale. His knowledge about Japanese history and politics, on top of his skill at leading conversations and exciting students about the topics, saved the course when things seemed to be falling apart.""Colin was a great presence in and out of the classroom: highly knowledgeable, and highly approachable."
Spring 2022. The Politics of American Public Policy, Professor Jacob Hacker
This course covered the formulation and contestation of public policy in the United States. Full anonymous evaluations here.
Select evaluations:“Colin is the BEST! I have to admit, I was not always super engaged in lecture, but Colin always made up for it in section. He is super energetic and created a safe space where we all felt comfortable asking questions about the class content and assignments. He would pose questions to the section in a non-stressful way, but rather in a way that really had us all thinking and participating.”“Colin was very helpful and very kind. He was easily accessible over email or during office hours and always gave thorough responses to any questions. Section was always engaging and interesting. Colin made sure students always got to discuss the course material and share their opinions. Section also always went over challenging material or introduced ideas that were very helpful in understanding the lectures.”
Fall 2022. The Rise of China, Professor Daniel Mattingly
In addition to an overview of modern Chinese political history, this course introduced key actors, institutions, and developments in modern Chinese government. Full anonymous evaluations here.
Select evaluations:“Colin was an amazing Teaching Fellow and always made going to section engaging and comfortable. He was extremely good at letting us attempt to answer questions on our own, but slowly guiding us toward the right idea without just giving it away. Even though Chinese political science was not his specialty, we could all tell that he studied quite a bit and made sure that he knew what he was talking about. Colin was also very good at weaving in lessons and theories from other parts of political science, helping us to gain a greater understanding of not only the material, but of Chinese politics in the context of political science. He also provided good feedback to our critical response papers. Overall, Colin was an amazing TF and I greatly enjoyed being in his section.""Colin is an amazing TF. This was the first section that I attended at Yale College where I was actually learning something outside of just repeating lecture content. Colin is engaging during section, and we had really productive discussions. He is also incredibly accessible for office hours and responsive to emails, and I always received detailed and helpful feedback which helped me improve my writing and develop my responses.”
Spring 2023. The Politics of American Public Policy, Professor Jacob Hacker
Back by popular demand, this course once again examined public policy in the United States, with considerable writing assignments advising on policy bundles for legislation. Full anonymous evaluations here.
Select evaluations:“Colin was amazing. I really have no suggestions for how he could improve. He's a natural teacher and was so helpful on all the assignments. Best TF I've ever had.”“Colin was an amazing TF, he is the best TF I've had at Yale. He explains complex things with clear simplicity and makes it an effort to connect ideas and theories to current event examples. He offers everyone in section the opportunity to contribute and he fosters an environment that makes everyone eager to contribute.”