Cody
Hmelar

I teach at three major institutions across English composition, engineering and ethnic studies programs — a large public urban university, a semi-rural satellite campus, and a medium private research university. My classes are often one of the only ones in which students engage their creative sides.

I see the connections between groups and people as similar to the way we see words bonded in a sentence. Without the components, the larger whole cannot exist. In my teaching, I invite students to bring their full selves as we explore relationships with others and with ourselves. I critique language homogenization practices and enact pedagogical practices that promote dialectal diversity. Language of all kind is valued here.

Assessment is not based on conformance to standard English but the ability to engage with complex ideas, experiment with genre and form, and provide insight into inquiry-based practices through metacognitive reflection. In my technical writing classes, I move beyond job documents and business proposals by connecting assignments to issues that matter — in my first year teaching, nine student groups raised a collective $875,000 in grant funds outside their college campuses' operational budget.