My teaching philosophy centers on cultivating active learning environments that empower students to take agency over their education. Students in my classrooms form collaborative learning communities that inspire and challenge them to see themselves as creators of knowledge, rather than as passive recipients.
I have continued to pursue professional development by contributing to faculty pedagogy reading groups as well as winning a teaching fellowship (2024-25 and 2025-26) in UC Riverside's University Writing Program, and its interdisciplinary wing, Writing Across the Curriculum.
TEACHING EXAMPLES
California State University–San Bernardino (2023-present)
HIST2010 | US History, 1877-Present
syllabus
"The material was interesting, the lecture slides were efficient and not overly wordy ... confident in his teaching and interested in every subject which I respect immensely. All the context needed for topics were always provided and the course was organized."
- student evaluation of HIST2010, spring 2025
As a classic intro survey, this course introduces students to the study of history by focusing on the post-Civil War United States. We explore themes related to the changing role of the United States in the world, the evolving meaning that a diverse array of Americans ascribe to the natural world, and the dynamic contests for equality from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement, environmental justice, and post-9/11 political crises. Through structured assignments and in-class writing, students engage historical thinking through the craft of primary source analysis and argumentative writing. The thematic structure of this survey follows the "uncoverage" model to present history as inquiry and interpretation, rather than rote memorization of "what really happened."
HIST3700 | California History seminar
syllabus
"Many history professors teach us history. Prof. Reynolds taught us HOW to participate in history."
- student eval of HIST3700, spring 2024
"You can tell people are genuinely enjoying his class and are paying attention, pretty impressive. Assignments have been graded fairly and with good commentary. Homework is useful and practical for the course. Actually enjoying Conference Days way more than I thought I would."
- student eval of HIST3700, spring 2025
I teach California History at two levels: both as an intro-level survey (HIST2700), and at the upper-division seminar level (HIST3700). Both versions encourage students to explore the historical theme of "abundance," as a driver of global migrations, the inspiration for massive ecological change and social and environmentalist organizing, and as a tool of colonial and state power. In this flipped classroom setting, students wrestle with diverse and engaging historical texts which center the contested nature of California's political ecology from the missions period to the present. Together we sharpen the tools of historical thinking through targeted in-class writing, a scaffolded research project, and a culminating "mock conference," where students form panels based on shared research interests and discuss their questions, sources, and findings in a roundtable setting, as other students are encouraged to ask follow up questions.
HIST5840 | History Proseminar
syllabus
This course introduces students to the historian's craft both through an introduction to historiographical theories and methods as well as through structured preparation for senior-level historical research and writing. The course is themed around a global approach to US empire as students explore various historical methodologies from cultural and environmental histories, to histories of gender and sexuality, transnational diaspora, and science and technology. The course will also follow the final roundtable mock conference while introducing students to the various means through which historians engage in the public sphere, including the diverse career paths for graduates with historical training.
University of California–Riverside (2023-2026)
HISE145 | The First World War
"Really effective instructor, he was able to convey the importance of the war then, and even now very well despite the time limits." - student eval of HISE145, summer 2023
Taught in a five-week summer session, this course focused on the major causes, diverse experiences, and impactful legacies of the Great War. Students explored the global dynamics of the war through the themes including imperialism and revolution, environmental destruction and representation, and social transformations like the global African diaspora and transnational women's suffrage movements. Students engaged with the anticolonial writings of W.E.B. DuBois and V.I. Lenin, feminist texts by Vera Brittain, and explored the global pandemic of 1918 through the writing of Katherine Anne Porter. In their final papers, students wrestled with the war's visual culture, comparing the war's classic and contemporary filmography to wartime visual and rhetorical propaganda.
WRIT020 (formerly ENGL1B) | Intermediate Composition
syllabus
position paper assignment
" ... very caring and engaging in class which allowed me to learn so much about Climate change and the importance of voicing my opinions. Great professor and class!"
- student eval of WRIT020, Winter 2025
This course introduces students to the craft of argumentative writing. Students learn to assess questions of audience, mobilize components of pursuasion, and analyze rhetoric through the lens of climate change. Together we read Amitov Ghosh's The Nutmeg's Curse, exploring the historical roots of the contemporary climate crisis through colonialism and militarism. Using shorter supplemental readings by climate theorists like Naomi Klein and Naomi Oreskes, students built their rhetorical skills throughout the term by writing position paper imagining themselves as a climate denier, analyzing and evaluating proposed solutions, and comparing various approaches to climate-themed stories. Though housed within a composition program (UCR's Undergraduate Writing Program), I would readily apply many of the themes, readings, and assessments to an environmental studies program.
WRIT030 (formerly ENGL1C) | Applied Composition
syllabus
final paper assignment
"Very well organized and prepared. Explained things very well and was open to alternate ideas. Flowed conversation and bounced ideas very well. Great use of the text and explanations of semiotics." - student eval of WRIT030, spring 2025.
Students in WRIT030 learn to analyze literature through the lens of semiotics. Together we explored the relationships between the US culture of superhero fiction and state power. Is the culture of superheroes inherently fascist? Students hone their argumentative writing skills by focusing on analysis and critique. By focusing on American comics, this course is also an introduction to US visual culture and could be readily applied to history, environmental studies, and American studies courses.