The YAWP: Villanova's Graduate English Program Blog

By Aria Gray MA '26 Late in the afternoon on March 11th, a handful of professors, administrators, and students gathered in the St. Augustine Center for the Villanova English Teaching Roundtable. The event was a casual yet informative conversation for all present, giving potential future teachers a chance to glean some helpful advice while giving current educators the opportunity to share their thoughts on the contemporary educational landscape. A panel of four faculty members, Administrator Mike Malloy, Program Director Mary Mullen, Prof. Yumi Lee, and Prof. Evan Radcliffe, fielded questions from first- and second-year graduate students over dinner, addressing the personal and professional sides of the profession. Discussion topics ranged from the specific, such as “How should my approach change from a high school to a graduate level?” and “What expectations should I set for myself in my first year?”, to the existential, with concerns being raised over the future of AI and how to b...

This past Thursday evening, students and faculty met over Zoom for a casual discussion on teaching strategies, experiences, and practices. Dr. Heather Hicks, Dr. Kamran Javadizadeh, Dr. Mary Mullen, Dr. Evan Radcliffe, and Dr. Tsering Wangmo shared about their personal teaching styles, and about what teaching in the pandemic has been like for them. Second year graduate students Caitlyn Dittmeier and Olivia Stowell also described their experiences working as teaching interns this semester. Caitlyn (who is interning for Dr. Mullen's Irish Literature: Gender and History course) and Olivia (who is interning for Dr. Javadizadeh's course on Letters, Texts, and Twitter) each discussed what they've learned so far, and answered questions from the other students attending the roundtable.  First year graduate student Franki Rudnesky shared, "I'm so glad I attended the teaching roundtable. As a first year student, being a TA is something I'm looking forward to doing nex...

Left to right: Zac Richards, Kristen Wallace, Shea Szpila, and Matthew Ryan Last night, our grad students and faculty met over pizza to informally discuss teaching. Matthew Ryan, currently doing an internship in teaching English, was able to present on that opportunity. A good time (and good pizza) were had by all.  Left to right: Dr. Heather Hicks, Kyle Bernadyn, Lauren Wilke, Caitlyn Dittmeier, Sam Dugan, and Zac Richards

This post by guest blogger and first year grad student Lauren Wilke. This past Thursday evening, students and faculty from the English Department met for a Teaching Roundtable event to discuss teaching techniques, share advice on the subject, and to enjoy some tomato pie. Dr. Evan Radcliffe and Dr. Heather Hicks attended to share valuable insight into their personal experiences with teaching throughout the years. Second-year graduate student Matthew Ryan talked in-depth about his current position as a teaching intern and what it has taught him. He had tips and ideas that ranged from collaborating with a faculty member to classroom management techniques. Everyone with teaching experience was able to share ideas and advice for those who are interested in pursuing a teaching career.

Thanks to everyone who came to this year's Teaching Roundtable!

When: Thursday, November 1st Where: 7:30pm in SAC 300 The Teaching Roundtable will feature some of your fellow classmates who are currently doing a teaching internship with a graduate faculty member in the department. This will be a casual discussion about the internship—and more specifically about their experiences and findings while teaching in the undergraduate classroom. We encourage you all to attend, but especially anyone interested in the internship or in teaching, and any current teachers in the program, to attend and join the discussion! RSVP’s aren’t mandatory- but if you know you might be attending, please let Brooke know.