History of Teaching Experience
Instructor
PHIL 256/PSCYH 256: Introduction to Cognitive Science
Spring 2026, University of Waterloo
Course Description: This course will be an introduction to some of the main themes and interdisciplinary questions at the heart of cognitive science. As a relatively new scientific discipline (in comparison with, say, physics or chemistry), many of the foundational issues are still to be settled. This has led to lively debate and congress between people from competing schools of thought, coming from a wide range of backgrounds, including philosophy, psychology, linguistics, anthropology, computing and AI research, mathematics, and neuroscience. While cognitive science gets its proper start after WWII, we will see how the roots of cognitive science go back much deeper in the Western intellectual tradition. One should not be surprised about this much longer history, given that cognitive science asks a range of very specific questions about how thinking works, but also very general questions.
Instructor
PHIL 240: Introduction to Formal Logic
Winter 2026, University of Waterloo
Course Description: Logic is the study of good inferences. This course examines a particular class of inferences, namely those where the truth of the conclusion is guaranteed by the logical form of the inference. These are called deductively valid arguments. Students will explore formal systems such as classical sentential logic and quantificational logic, and develop the skills required to evaluate arguments using concepts such as soundness, consistency, and logical equivalence. Students will develop good inferential practices for constructing deductively sound arguments.
Teaching Assistant
PHIL 240: Introduction to Formal Logic
Fall 2025, University of Waterloo
Course Description: An examination of classical propositional logic, covering proof methods, expressive completeness, soundness, and completeness. Also an introduction to quantificational logic.
Co-Instructor
PHIL 256/PSCYH 256: Introduction to Cognitive Science
Spring 2025, University of Waterloo
Course Description: Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of mind and intelligence. This course will draw on philosophy, psychology, artificial intelligence, linguistics, neuroscience, and anthropology to address central questions about the nature of thinking. Topics discussed will include mental representation, computational models of mind, and consciousness.
Instructor
PHIL 145: Critical Thinking
Winter 2025, University of Waterloo
Course Description: All of us are entitled to our own opinions, but not all opinions are equal. Just because we believe something, that doesn’t make it so. Opinions that are based on empirical evidence (when empirical evidence is needed) are better than ones that are not. Opinions that are based on good inferences are better than ones that are not. Critical thinking is about how to reason with evidence and how to develop good argumentative practices. Students will learn about different types of arguments, how to assess these arguments, and how to strengthen arguments by identifying and correcting common errors.
Co-Instructor
PHIL 145: Critical Thinking
Fall 2024, University of Waterloo
Course Description: An analysis of basic types of reasoning, structure of arguments, critical assessment of information, common fallacies, problems of clarity and meaning.
Teaching Assistant
PHILOSOP 2400: Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind
Winter 2024, University of Western Ontario
Course Description: This course is an introduction to the philosophy of mind. It covers a broad range of traditional questions in this field, such as: What is a mind or a mental state? Can mental states be explained in the same way as other things (such as the motion of physical bodies)? Do we really know what others feel or experience? What is the relationship between sensory experience and thought? What is a person and under what conditions does a person continue to exist? Does the determinism of physics imply that we have no free will?
Teaching Assistant
PHILOSOP 1230: Reasoning and Critical Thinking
Fall 2023, University of Western Ontario
Course Description: This course teaches a basic set of skills that will improve your ability to think clearly and rationally. It will help you avoid fallacies and inconsistencies, uncover implicit assumptions, and become aware of your own biases. These skills will help you identify and assess claims and arguments, such as those encountered in your coursework, in conversation, and on social media. The course has a strong focus on hands-on practice with immediate feedback, which is facilitated with weekly short exercises that are graded quickly or instantaneously.