Teaching.
I have had the pleasure of teaching Business and Professional Communication (COMM 286) and Intercultural and Intergroup Communication (COMM/ETHN 311) in my five years at UNL. These experiences have developed my confidence as a scholar and I am now a proud recipient of the Bruce Kendall Award for outstanding graduate teaching assistants. My syllabus and course construction of COMM/ETHN311 is heavily influenced by my training in critical race theory and intergroup communication principles. Additionally, because my main population of focus in my research is a liminal identity group, I have structured the course to allow for discussions of students’ own intersectionalities and group memberships. My commitment to self-reflexive and contextual learning is influenced by my passions for both critical scholarship and social change on behalf of marginalized groups. These passions for social justice, especially as they relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion, have influenced my hands-on learning techniques that force my students to engage in dialogue across difference, to self-reflect on their positionality, and to take action to have new intercultural experiences. I have also had the wonderful experience of taking my teaching experience outside of the traditional classroom by closely mentoring two BIPOC undergraduate students through a full social scientific research project resulting in two accepted submissions to the International Communication Association Conference in May 2021.
My undergraduate students have taught me a lot about mentorship and the complex multiplicity of being a student in this day and age. Without them I would not have landed on my mentorship philosophy: lift as you climb. Whether I am conducting a training session in my current position at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, mentoring students through research projects, or teaching a basic course to a large classroom, I value connecting with my students and helping them improve and succeed in all aspects of their life, not just their academics. As i climb the academic ranks I want to make sure to open the door behind me for students, especially those from marginalized and underrepresented communities, to be able to follow me toward their own aspirations, academic or otherwise.
"Megan is very welcoming to everybody and poses questions for everyone to think about to reinforce the ideas from class. She is easy to communicate with and is very understanding. I felt safe to talk about parts of my identity in assignments and YellowDig discussions. As someone who has quite a bit of social anxiety and typically lacks in the participation aspect of courses due to this, I deeply appreciate the environment of inclusivity, respect, and acceptance that Megan has created within this class. She has created a platform both online and in the classroom where I feel safe to share my thoughts and opinions with her and with my peers. Especially when studying and discussing intercultural communication, I feel that these aspects were vital to me actually being able to engage with the concepts of the course to better understand them."
"Megan was THEE best teacher I think that I have had at UNL. She was incredibly inclusive of everybody in the classroom. She was relatable and honest and taught her class in such an amazing way. Professor Cardwell was a blast to have instruct COMM 311, the ability to connect with students and have meaningful class discussion made this class a blast! Megan is always easy to reach and easy to communication with. I am always comfortable reaching out to her if I have a question. She is very clear on her expectations and is always easy to talk to."
"I felt like the class discussions we had before we switched to online were extremely insightful and gave me a broader understanding of my peers. Being almost "forced" (in a good way) to interact with each other was extremely beneficial. We had a really diverse class, so I was able to learn a lot about my classmates through group activities and conversations. My professor led our activities and discussions which was also extremely effective and made us more willing to participate."