Teaching Methodology

I strive to cultivate an engaging, inclusive, and student-centered classroom environment, and I carefully scaffold lessons for learners of all levels and experience. Teaching philosophy, examples of course activities, and syllabi available upon request.

teaching fields

Science Communication

Theories of Literacy

Global Anglophone literatures

Environmental Humanities

Digital Humanities

Postcolonial Literature and Theory

20th Century British Literature

contemporary world literatures

the south asian novel

Writing (general and for human service professionals, specifically)

SELECTED COURSES 

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON — EUGENE, OR

Foundations of Literacy

(Winter 2021 & 2022)

Writing for Human Service Professionals

(Spring 2020-2022, Fall 2020-2022, Winter 2021 & 2022)

College Composition III

(Winter 2020)

College Composition II

(Fall 2014 & 2019, Winter 2014 & 2020)

College Composition I

(Fall 2013 & 2015, Winter 2015 & 2020, Spring 2014)

Introduction to Fiction: An Introduction to Cli-Fi

(Winter 2018)

Introduction to Fiction: An Introduction to Postcolonial Ecocriticism

(Fall 2017)

Intro to the English Major: Discussion Leader

(Spring 2015)

Survey English Literature: Teaching Assistant

(Spring 2013)

FLORENCE STATE PRISON — FLORENCE, AZ

Creative Writing

(2011-2012)

Selected Quotes from RECENT teaching evaluations

“This was by far the best class I've ever taken all because of Dr. Rochester. Dr. Rochester made the class feel like family. I struggle with social anxiety but I really enjoyed being able to talk out loud in this class because of the environment Dr. Rochester created.”

"Dr. Rochester is hands down one of the best professors I have had so far in college. Her support, feedback, level of challenge for us, and more are what make her a genuinely good professor. Dr. Rochester never turned on us when it came to assisting us through assignments, no matter how many emails or zoom meetings it took."

"The lectures were very detailed and informative. She gave examples and explained thoroughly. Her feedback was extremely helpful for assignments/grading by specifically stating what I could work on. She was never vague on her communication. She was supportive and guided me through any confusion I was having during office hours. She's the only teacher I felt comfortable to visit office hours with, which I appreciated. I think all of the assignment and quizzes were relevant with what we needed to know. The information I learned in this class, I used for another family and human services class and another subject, therefore, I'm able to apply what I'm being taught in multiple aspects of my life, which is the goal of learning. She was very organized with her work and materials."

"Dr. Rochester has done an outstanding job of communicating and organizing this course. She communicates the material and the assignments as clearly as possible, but also leaves herself quickly available for questions. Her energy gets me excited about the class and it is one of the few classes I look forward to turning on my computer for."

"Out of my four courses, this one is by far the most organized - I would encourage the university to implement your method of organization on Canvas across the board. And bonus points go to the weekly overview - this really sets me up for success throughout the week."

"Dr. Rochester had many strengths. She spoke very clearly and definitely showed that she came prepared to every single class. I could tell that she loved what she was teaching, because she made it interesting even for me. Her grading was prompt and effective. I received a lot of great, insightful feedback from her."

"She made everyone feel important and respected by acknowledging our differences."

"Rachel created the most positive attitude and environment I've ever been in for discussion. She kept us on task, while keeping us engaged throughout the entire time."

"Rachel was awesome! She did a great job setting up the way we did discussion and it felt like a valuable use of my time to go. She was always nice and understanding to all of us and never made us feel like we were asking stupid questions."