About.
At the heart of my work is the question: How can teachers make education transformative? How can we awaken a fascination for our subjects, inspire a love of learning, and help young people in schools lead morally good, politically engaged and personally meaningful lives? What methods work in K-12 and college classrooms? These questions animate my teaching, my research and my work with teacher professionals.
Education & Profesional Background
I earned my PhD in Philosophy of Education at The Ohio State University in 2017. Before this I worked for several years as an English teacher in Aschaffenburg, Germany and a mechanical engineer in Puget Sound, Washington. The shift from engineering to education occured because of the inspiration of several teachers I had in school and college, and my research aims to understand how such transformative experiences can become a goal of teaching.
PhD & MA in Educational Philosophy and Psychology, Ohio State University, 2017
Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom C2, Goethe Institut, Frankfurt 2013
BSci in Mechanical Engineering, Philosophy (minor) & Mathematics (minor), with highest honors, University of Texas at Austin, 2010
Research & Teaching
My research expertise lies primarily in student motivation and engagement, moral and democratic education, the ethics of education, teacher education, and the history of educational thought. As a philosopher by discipline, I use the conceptual and theoretical resources of philosophy to understand how educational and pedagogical decisionmaking affects the ability of young people to flourish as individuals and as citizens.
An overview of my research in these areas can be found on the Books and Essays pages.
I have been teaching at the university for almost ten years. I offer courses on educational ethics, progressive education, school and society, moral education, and technology in education. I also hold workshops and talks for teachers on similiar topics. In 2021 I received the TU Dortmund Award for excellence in teaching.
An overview of these topics can be found on the Workshop and Talks pages.
Personal Life
When I am not reading, writing or teaching, I am either looking after my two lovely, sometimes unruly daughters or baking ancient grain breads. In fact, my breads are a bit like my children. I’m proud when they actually turn out, so here are a few shots of loaves that made the cut. They are all baked with Spelt, Ur-Rye, or Gold Wheat.
