Professor Abby Goode: Inspiring Students and Colleagues Alike
鈥淓ffective teaching is about empowering students as knowledge creators at every turn, in small and large ways,鈥 says Assistant Professor of Early American Literature Abby Goode. Her success in not only inspiring students but also influencing instructional trends is well recognized by 橙子视频app peers, who have honored her with both the Distinguished Scholarship and Transformative Teaching awards.
Goode has served as a leader and steward of open, interdisciplinary, and project-based pedagogies within and beyond PSU, publishing peer-reviewed scholarship, speaking at national conferences, and mentoring faculty across the disciplines. She specializes in environmental studies and American literature and culture.
骋辞辞诲别鈥檚鈥痓辞辞办,鈥Agrotopias: An American Literary History of Sustainability,鈥痠s forthcoming from the University of North Carolina Press this fall, and her鈥痯eer-reviewed research appears in outlets such as鈥Early American Literature, ESQ, Studies in American Fiction,鈥疕ybrid Pedagogy, and鈥American Studies in Scandinavia.鈥疕er work has been supported by fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the American Antiquarian Society, the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, and the First Book Institute at the Center for American Literary Studies at Penn State.
鈥淗er rigorous research will have all the more impact due to her participation in the public humanities and her ability to render her work accessible to multiple audiences,鈥 says Assistant Professor of Art History and Art History Coordinator Sarah Parrish. 鈥淚n addition to the traditional 鈥榮cholarship of discovery,鈥 Goode is also a major player in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Her thoughtful article 鈥楽low Interdisciplinarity,鈥 published by Hybrid Pedagogy, has become a foundational text in our Cluster Learning trainings and will surely influence the larger field of higher education as educators continue to respond to a changing landscape.鈥
Goode鈥檚 teaching focuses on creating opportunities for student leadership, open education,鈥 and鈥痗ommunity engagement,鈥痚ven after the semester is over.鈥疐rom sustainability-driven composition courses to project-based 鈥淎merican Food Issues鈥 capstones to environmental justice literature classes, her teaching invites students to synthesize multiple disciplinary perspectives, contribute to the knowledge commons, and engage in current ecological and social debates. 鈥
鈥淥ver the years, I have taught in a range of contexts and forms鈥攊n-person and online, upper-level and introductory, during a pandemic and during tense electoral seasons,鈥 says Goode. 鈥淭hrough it all, I consistently encourage students to carve their own paths, to be fearless and innovative in confronting unsolved problems, and to build enduring, intellectual habits that extend far beyond the classroom. My teaching has focused on creating opportunities for student-led innovation and community engagement.鈥
鈥淎bby was a professor and advisor of mine for my entire four years of university,鈥 says Dalton Puffer 鈥20. 鈥淪he changed my perspective in many forms and fashions and I can鈥檛 thank her enough for that. Her teaching methods are truly unparalleled and highly effective.鈥
鈥淪he considers what she brings to the classroom and how that impacts her students and adjusts her approach to find out how to make it work best for her students,鈥 adds Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies Mary Beth Ray. 鈥淎bby takes pedagogical risks to improve student engagement and learning that additionally highlight her treatment of students as collaborators and contributors of new knowledge.鈥