Teaching
PortfoliO
Teaching is at the heart of my work. I believe every student is a scholar, and my role is to challenge and support them as they grow. Grounded in Disability Studies and Higher Education, I prioritize community, inclusion, and dialogue. I use methods like Socratic seminars, Freirean pedagogy, and the concept of brave space to foster honest, thoughtful conversations, even when they’re uncomfortable.
From the start, my scholars help shape class norms, reflecting on what respect and participation mean to them and others. My classroom is a space where we break from tradition. My goal is to be a space where scholars build confidence, think critically, and connect what they learn inside classrooms to other areas of their lives.
Teaching also draws from my background in theatre. I treat the classroom like a collaborative stage, not to perform at students, but to create space for them to take the lead. I step back during discussions to observe and listen, jumping in only when needed to guide, clarify, or challenge ideas. This approach helps students find their voice, build confidence, and engage more deeply with complex topics.
My assessment practices are shaped by ungrading and student development theory. Assessment in my courses is flexible and personalized. I design and accept a variety of assignment formats aligning with the learning objectives, allowing scholars to demonstrate understanding in ways that suit their strengths. Whether through written work, presentations, creative projects, or class participation, scholars have multiple entry points to show progress. I focus on formative feedback, flexible assignments, and mastery-based rubrics or grading plans encouraging growth. I assess both individual and group progress, adjusting to student needs and learning styles.
Courses evolve because students do. I continuously revise my teaching to support all learners, with an emphasis on accessibility practices with my field of research. I want every student to walk away with something valuable for their future, and to feel seen as a scholar on their own terms.
Certifications, Conferences, AND COMMENDATIONS (Oh MY)
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Associate, Anticipated Spr 2025
ACPA Faculty Racial Justice and Decolonization Institute, Scholarship Awardee, 2023
Pipeline to an Inclusive Faculty Fellowship Recipient, University of Illinois Chicago, 2023–Present
Teaching (2020–Present)
Disability and Human Development 101: Disability in U.S. Society – Fall 2024; Spring 2025; 50% Teaching Assistantship, 50 student load
Explores the variety of approaches to understanding disability in personal, social, economic, artistic, and political contexts.
- Fall 2024, In Person. Spring 2025, Online Asychronous.
- Advises a load of 50 undergraduate students in an in-person large enrollment course at a 50% appointment
- Grades discussion boards, quizzes, and long form assessments
- Engages with students in need of additional support in assignments and clarifications
- Participates in weekly teaching assistant meetings with professor
Disability and Human Development 202: Disability, Health, & Society–Spring 2024; 25% Teaching Assistantship, 35 student load
The notion of disability and health through the use of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) focusing on influence of family, culture, and policies.
- Advises a load of 35 undergraduate students in a large online course at a 25% appointment
- Grades discussion boards, quizzes, and long form assessments
- Engages with students in need of additional support in assignments and clarifications
- Participates in weekly teaching assistant meetings with professor
Honors Discovery UHON 102H: The Science of You—Spring 2023 (2 sections, 60 students), Fall 2022 (1 section, 12 students), Spring 2022 (2 sections, 60 students)
- Developed and taught UHON 102H, overseeing two sections totaling 40 students in Spring 2023, one section with 11 students in Fall 2022, and two sections with 50 students in Spring 2022, supervising learning assistants for each section.
Honors Experience UHON 99H: Internship or Professional Experience—Summer 2023, Summer 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Summer 2021
- Instructed UHON 99H—Internships/Work Experiences, an online asynchronous reflective course, and taught 115 students with co-instructors in Summer 2023, and 68 students during Summer 2022.
Honors Connect UHON 201H: NaNoWriMo, or Novel Preparedness—Fall 2022, Fall 2021
- Designed and implemented UHON 201H experiential curriculum, including teaching NaNoWriMo Prep, where 5 students wrote 50,000+ words and “won” NaNoWriMo
Honors Connect UHON 201H: Honors Afterschool Clubs—Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Summer 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021
- Designed and implemented UHON 201H experiential curriculum and facilitated partnerships for Honors Afterschool Clubs, engaging 40 students leading 15–20 clubs semesterly around Lincoln, NE from Fall 2021 to Summer 2023.
Power Seminar UGEP 100: Second Year Seminar—Fall 2020
OASIS Intercultural Leadership Program—Spring 2020 (canceled due to COVID-19)
Independently Led Classes and Workshops Experience
Summer Sunset Series June 2024–August 2024
Summer Sunset Series is an unstructured community writing space focused on writing development, cold reading plays, idea development, and professional development preparation for submitting works.
- Hosted weekly in Wicker Park, Chicago, Illinois for 3 hours
- Emphasized community support and development of Chicago playwrights
External Pressure Zoom “Class” August 2020–August 2021
External Pressure is structured virtual group time using a combination of student development theory and the Pomodoro Method, focused on empowering women to achieve their goals even under the pressures of a pandemic.
- Attendees reached 68% of their goals—met goals in entirety 110 times versus partially met goals 51 times
- Conceptualized and created allocations based on principles of student development and the Pomodoro Method
- Emphasized and supported reasonable goal setting to not only serve academic goals but also serve attendees’ basic needs
- Facilitated thrice weekly for 4 hours Tuesday through Thursday, with 6–10 regular attendees from the United States of America, Canada, and the United Kingdom
Sunnie Alumnae Discussion Series June 2020–August 2021
Sunnie Alumnae Discussions are a virtual mentorship and networking series facilitated among hermanas of my Latina interest social sorority on a variety of career paths.
- Created a weekly online discussion series to bridge the gap of alumna mentorship within Sigma Omega Nu, Latina Interest Sorority, Incorporated, with two other alumnae
- Created Alumnae Open Forums once a month for further engagement with alumnae and goal setting, now hosted by the National Board of Sigma Omega Nu, Latina Interest Sorority Incorporated
- Served as lead facilitator and moderator for weekly discussions
- Worked with national board to have the recorded discussions posted to the website for Topics covered: Personal Finance and Homeownership, STEM/PhD Careers, Self-Care and Intergenerational Cycle Breaking, Graduate School (General), Graduate Level Testing (LSAT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, CBEST), Job Seeking Tips, Education Careers (K–12), Business and Entrepreneur Careers, and more
Selected Publications
Published
Sasso, P.A., Altstadt, A., & Bullington, K.E. (2024). The Academic Oratory Tax Paid by Undergraduates as Persons Who Stutter. The Review of Higher Education 47(3), 347-372. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2024.a921606.
Light, A., Altstadt, A.-M., Sanchez-Txabarri, O., Bernstein, S., & McMahon, P.C. (2023, April 28). College-powered afterschool service-learning: The impact on college students. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 27(1). https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/2895
Sasso, P. A., Jeffers, A., Altstadt, A.-M., Bullington, K., & Enciso, M. (2023, April 7). Personal “reservations”: Revealing the selective invisibility in multiracial Native American students. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2023.2176768
Altstadt, A-M. K. (2021, July 28). Spaces and societal interactions: Foundations of the critical Disabled Cultural lens of a child of disabled adults [Master’s thesis]. University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In Press
Altstadt, A.-M., D’Souza, J., & Edelstein, J. (Scheduled for 2025 Publication: Release 2025, June 3) Working title: Integrating disability culture to alleviate hidden labor costs for disabled graduate and professional students. In Bondi, S., Tran-Parsons, U., & Kanagala, V. (Eds.) (in press). Fostering equity and inclusion in graduate education: Key strategies and perspectives. Routledge.
Selected Refereed Professional Conference Presentations
Accepted
Noonan, B. Altstadt, A.-M., Young, J., Bridger, M., Weiss, S., Erlikh, S., Hudson, T. (2025, April 7-11). Access as praxis: A conversation between disability arts and culture practitioners. [Conference presentation]. Symposium for Disability and Accessibility at Yale, New Haven, CT. United States. Virtual.
Presented
Altstadt, A.-M., Noonan, B., & Weiss, S. (2025, February 19-22). Code of the Freaks facilitated discussion [Conference presentation]. Southwest Popular/American Culture Association, Albuquerque, NM, United States. In-Person.
Altstadt, A.-M. (2024, March 26). Beyond referrals to SSD: Advising and supporting disabled students [Conference presentation]. National Academic Advising Association, Region 5 & Region 6 Conference, Minneapolis, MN, United States.
Altstadt, A.-M., Gudiel, D., & Paniagua, A. A. (2024, March 20). Making them listen: Using autoethnography to empower marginalized stories in academia. [Conference presentation]. Association of College Personnel Administrators Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, United States.
Altstadt, A.-M., Essex, B., Charlton, J., McDonald, Z., Moreno Del Rio, E., & Vera, A. (2022, March 11). Tributes to bell hooks’s Dialogues with UNL teachers, writers, and advocates [Panel]. No Limits Conference, Lincoln, NE, United States.