Undergraduate Education
In teaching sociology, I aim to provide students with tools to discover social phenomena that may go unnoticed in everyday life and to engage in systematic examination of their social world.
My goal is to have students develop a natural relationship with sociology where they can understand sociological theory, appreciate knowledge produced by sociological research, and have both at their disposal, while also feeling confident in seriously critiquing and rejecting claims made upon sociological basis.
In order to achieve this goal, I include various forms of participation opportunities in my class sessions, and I combine different types of assessments to help students develop perspectives and skills that are applicable to understanding the social world they are in.
Selected student feedback
“I really enjoyed Soci 112 because Tianhao’s applications of course concepts were practical, from “real life,” and clear, and she always encouraged open discussion so I felt that I could voice my thoughts freely without fear of getting it wrong. Discussion and application of class concepts was engaging, funny, and helped break down otherwise dense readings and concepts. Tianhao was also accessible outside of class.”
“Tianhao is such a sweet person. Her passion for the material was evident as she taught and she guided us through her world of study even if we had no idea about it before hand. I feel like I learned a lot about interactions and now look at the way I speak very differently.”
“Prof Zhang was an effective speaker who motivated her students to push beyond what they thought they were capable of. She had a variety of teaching techniques so they could be applied to all different types of learners.”
“She created an inviting and comfortable environment for everyone to be themselves and form relationships with the people around us!”
“In my case, I grew to be very sick at the beginning of the semester, and ended up in the hospital many times. Through all of this, she still took my assignments even if they were late, and if it had been any other professor I am positive they would not have done so. She allowed me to be able to learn, even if I was on a slightly different schedule than everyone else due to my health. This has allowed me to be able to nurse myself back to almost full health, and still be able to keep up with the content and learn to the best of my ability. I truly appreciate this more than anything.”
Correctional Education Program
Aside from teaching undergraduate courses, I am also currently an instructor for the UNC-Chapel Hill Correctional Educational Program for inmates. Different from teaching in the classroom setting where I am with my students, I recognize that teaching as a correspondence instructor faces new constraints and challenges. Meanwhile, it also provides new opportunities for me to contribute to the social world as a teacher. I am very grateful to be a part of the program.
List of Courses
INSTRUCTOR OF RECORD
Sociological Perspectives SOCI101 (Summer 2020; Fall 2020; Spring 2021)
Social Interaction SOCI112 (Fall 2021; Spring 2022; Fall 2022; Spring 2023; Fall 2024)
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Population Problems SOCI121 (Fall 2017)
Sociological Perspectives SOCI101 (Spring 2018)
Human Societies SOCI111 (Fall 2018; Spring 2021)
Methods of Sociological Research SOCI251 (Spring 2019)
Societies and Genomics SOCI277 (Fall 2019)
Linear Regression Models SOCI709 (graduate-level) (Spring 2020)
Tianhao Zhang 