COURSES TAUGHT
Gradaute
Foundations of Sociological Explanations, Soc 503,(UVIC)
Current Issues in Gender, Racialization, and Ethnicity, Soc 525 (UVIC)
Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory, Doctoral Course, (University of Gondar, Ethiopia)
Undergraduate
Sociology of Genders, Soc 281 (UVIC)
Gender, Race, Health, and Medicine, Soc 432 (UVIC)
Sociology of Health over the Life Course, Soc 285 (UVIC)
Classical Sociological Theory I, Soc b42, University of Toronto, Scarborough (UTSC)
Classical Sociological Theory II, Soc b43, UTSC,
Contemporary Sociological Theory, Soc c40, UTSC,
Research Seminar: Realizing the Sociological Imagination, Soc d50, UTSC
Advanced Seminar in Gender and Family, Soc d10, UTSC
Sociology of Education, Soc 224, University of Toronto, Mississauga
Special Topics - Gender, Health, Medicine, Soc 498, University of Toronto
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Teaching is a central part of my work as a scholar and thinker. I am dedicated to student education and student-led research, and take seriously student engagement and personalized instruction that can inspire and encourage all students, particularly those from diverse and non-traditional backgrounds.
My courses are designed to encourage student success by having class-specific resources available to them. I work with librarians and writing-centres to help my students learn the best ways to use the properly utilize these resources. I also design 'nested assignments' and build accountability checks into my syllabus as tools to ensure student success.
The subjects I teach are exceptionally relevant to students' lives. Consequently, not only do I design my courses and teach sociology with an intersectional lens, I actively recognize the lived realities of the students in my classrooms and work with them to understand how what they learn interacts with their own lives. For example, it can be very disheartening for students to learn about the racial and class based inequalities that persist in education outcomes since many students may be facing these inequalities in their own lives. I work with students by engaging in larger class discussions to help them understand how their experiences reflect, interact with, and depart from the theories and knowledge presented in my class. Addressing inequality and privilege in the classroom is especially salient when teaching in diverse settings such as Toronto. In short, my teaching aims to empower students through knowledge, having them find sociology in their everyday lives.
MENTORING EXPERIENCE
I am committed to mentoring undergraduate students and have had the fortune of mentoring over a dozen student as part of the Research Opportunity Program at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. This mentoring has ranged from teaching practical skills in qualitative and quantitative research methods and programs, writing literature reviews, applying for grants, awards, and graduate school, to professionalization and career development. I have accompanied two undergraduates on a research trip to the United Kingdom, and have taken several undergraduates to national and international conferences, teaching them to navigate conference presentations and conference culture.
SELECT QUALITATIVE STUDENT EVALUATIONS
“Professor Albert is amongst the most valuable instructors that I've had had the honor of learning from in all my post secondary education. Thank you!!!” (Student, Soc B42 - Classical Theory).
“Prof. Albert is an exceptional instructor, mentor, and friend. I appreciate the level of genuine support she gave throughout this semester, devoting her time to supporting my classmates and me as we conducted our research. Research opportunities during undergrad, such as this course, are incredibly important to take as they hone your research and writing skills that you can use for other areas of interest. After finishing this course, I am confident that I have more robust research toolkit that I can apply in my next semester as well as my future career after undergrad. She treats each student with respect, inviting each to share their ideas in conversations. I am glad that Prof. Albert was a part of my undergraduate experience.” (Student, Soc D50 - Research Seminar).
“Professor Albert is an excellent teacher. She is very clear, thorough, helpful, responsive, and understanding. Her enthusiasm and knowledge for the subject matter is reflecting in her lectures. She created an atmosphere of mutual respect and is sincerely devoted to the success of the students. She demonstrates professionalism and encouraged participation and group discussion.” (Student, Soc B42 - Classical Theory).
“Katelin has been a fantastic professor that encourages you to continue engaging with the material and project and learn from whatever mistakes you make during this process. I can go on and on about the need for this university to have classes like this and a professor like Katelin, definitely a favorite course for me personally and applicable after graduating.” (Student, Soc D50 - Research Seminar).
“I was not too interested in the course material going into this class, but Professor Albert proved to be very knowledgeable and passionate about what she does (there’s nothing I love more than professors who clearly love their jobs!!) and it allowed me to actually gain an interest in the subject. In addition, she was always very welcoming and approachable. Overall, one of my favourite professors that I have had.” (Student, Sociology of Education).
“This class was the best class this semester for the amount and variety of support that was offered. […] Most importantly, I write my tests in the accessibility centre. No prof has ever come down to the centre without anyone calling them first. She came down just to make sure we didn’t have any questions. … I was so grateful that she would come down and check on us (maybe even just me). It made me feel like I wasn’t forgotten about and like someone cared.
I think this is a good example to demonstrate how much our prof cared about us and our learning. Prof Albert coming down to see if I had any questions on my test was the highlight of my semester at UTM. I have always felt supported by UTM and always been amazed at all of the resources that are offered to us and when brought to professors attention, not one of them has ever not helped me. I have never had a prof that remembers or takes into consideration that students are writing tests in other rooms and then takes a few minutes to check in on us. I appreciated that more then anything.” (Student, Sociology of Education).
