Laurel Bastian

Teaching philosophy:

My goal is to guide students in constructing new knowledge and in practicing skills that will be directly relevant to them in the workplace.

I believe that expanding/constructing knowledge and expertise effectively depends on acknowledging existing individual experience and goals. My classes are designed to help students identify how the skills we focus on will be necessary for success in their field and to assess (using my feedback, peer feedback, and their own reflection) current competencies and skills that need strengthening); we then practice those skills through a variety of activities (in large group, small group, and individually).

Class activities will directly support defined learning outcomes at the course and unit level; students will be able to clearly see how each assignment ties in to the course’s goals and enhances their own future success as professional communicators.

I also believe that, to grow as professionals, we must be challenged and challenge ourselves. No one grows in an “easy” class. Students who succeed in this class generally believe that the instructor, the material, and their peers offer knowledge and expertise they do not yet have or haven't yet mastered, and they seize the opportunity to work with that knowledge and expertise in a genuine way.

Bio:

In addition to a decade of teaching experience, Laurel has 15 years of experience in project management and communications in the nonprofit sector; she has conducted hundreds of presentations and routinely prepared complex reports for a wide variety of stakeholders. Most recently, as staff of the Fair Housing Center of Greater Madison, she implemented fair housing outreach and education services across Dane County and the state, presenting to thousands of elected officials, housing consumers, community advocates, faith leaders and others. She also worked to support civil rights enforcement by conducting investigations of housing discrimination.

Laurel founded, coordinated, and taught with the Writers in Prisons project, a collaborative organization that offered writing and humanities classes to individuals incarcerated at Oakhill Correctional Institution from 2007 to 2012. In 2013, she assisted UW faculty in securing a Baldwin Idea grant to continue this work under the umbrella of the University.

In addition to the content included in her courses, Laurel’s areas of interest include the impact of implicit bias on communications and best practices for creating/sustaining diversity and inclusion in organizations.

Hobbies include reading (history, international current events, and long-form journalism), cooking (favorite cuisines include Lebanese and Turkish), and running.

Undergraduate Courses

GenBus 300: Professional Communication (BUS 300 Section 2), Fall 2016.

GenBus 300: Professional Communication (BUS 300 Section 4), Fall 2016.

GenBus 300: Professional Communication (BUS 300 Section 11), Fall 2016.