Congressman Beto O’Rourke (House of Representatives), guest speaker for Persuasive Motivational Speech, Fall 2012
I believe that students should have a chance to play a transformative role in their own classrooms. It is through this thought process that I work to create a supportive environment where students feel comfortable to participate in authentic dialogue where they can connect class lessons with experiential learning. My goal as an instructor is to connect individual student experience with experiential learning opportunities in and outside the classroom that integrate research, teaching, and service. My Teaching Portfolio provides an in depth perspective into my teaching activities that embody my teaching philosophy through establishing a supportive environment for students, engaging in experiential learning, and using participatory methods of teaching that help students to maximize their learning.
Teaching Experience and Course Evaluations
I have developed, taught, and assisted in over five different courses at the Department of Communication at the University of Texas at El Paso and at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. Course topics range from Public Speaking to Intercultural Communication.
Course Developer and Instructor of Record
Washington State University (Average Rating of Instructor, Average Rating of Course)
Comm 479: Youth and Media, Spring 2016 (4.0/4.0)
Comm 479: Youth and Media, Fall 2015 (4.8/4.5)
Comm 479: Youth and Media, Spring 2015 (5.0/5.0)
Comm 479: Youth and Media, Fall 2014 (4.37/4.21)
Comm 321: Intercultural Communication, Summer 2014 (5.0/5.0)
Comm 102: Communication in an Information Society, Summer 2013 (4.86/4.86)
Cougar Quest Workshop for Middle and High School Students, Topic: To Indonesia and Beyond: An Intercultural Communication Approach
Teaching Assistant
Comm 105: Global Communication, Fall 2012, Spring 2013
Comm 102: Communication in an Information Society Lab, Fall 2012, Spring 2013
Comm 1301: An Introduction to Public Speaking through a Social Justice Lens, Fall 2011, Spring 2012
Comm 1370: Introduction to Communication, Fall 2010, Spring 2011
Written Evaluations
Comm 479, Spring 2016
Davi was and is an excellent instructor; I felt like I truly mattered to her, and that my success also mattered. I also felt like I wasn’t just another student ID; she treated me like a person, not a check box, and that helped tremendously.
I like how our teacher was in constant communication with our class, I feel this really helps online classes to excel. And I really felt that she did her best to engage us in every aspect to the best of her ability.
Never met her, but based on her online lectures, she is passionate about the class. Always gave great feedback on assignments.
Very accessible and fair.
I found the course matter itself to be interesting, fun, and intriguing.
Comm 479, Fall 2015
I loved the content of this course, I feel it is important to understand more about media and the impacts that it can have on us.
Great subject that kept me interested.
Davi seemed to go above and beyond what is normal for instructors. I feel she is a strong asset to WSU.
She [Kallman] was always available whether it be via cell phone or via e-mail. Her responses were always prompt and efficient. She was always willing to answer questions.
Again, she [Kallman] was by far the most supportive and caring instructor I’ve had in my time at WSU.
Davi was fantastic. My only bummer about this class was the final presentation and not having the opportunity to work in a group (based on the members of my group who opted out).
Davi has excellent communication skills which is paramount in an online class. If I was unclear on something she always took time to explain and made thing very understandable.
Professor Kallman is by far one of, if not the best instructor that I have had. She was always available whether it be via her personal cell phone or through e-mail. She set up individual “office hours” (in my case, a personal call) to brainstorm ideas for our paper.
[Kallman is] easily the best instructor I’ve had through an online course.
The course is “easy” because it is organized and assignments are meaningful. It does take work and time to get a good grade. Stay on top of your work, put forth the effort, and you will do great! Professor Kallman cares about your progress and wants you succeed.
Davi is an awesome teacher. She really cares about her students and that they take away something from course. As long as you put in some time each week this class and you put in solid effort you can easily excel in the course. Davi is one of those amazing college professors you hear about. She was debatably the best teacher I had at WSU.
Comm 479, Spring 2015
Yes. [The course] Very interesting subject. The information/knowledge gained is useful in many other areas.
Yes, it really [the course] contributed towards my learning.
Comm 479, Fall 2014
I really enjoyed this class. Davi is an amazing teacher. I love her personality, class assignments, and feedback. She is always quick to respond if you need help, she is approachable, her grading scale makes sense and is reasonable, and she handles group projects and concepts very nicely. I loved that we had not only individual assignments, but also group assignments. I liked the fact that group work took up most of the class and that individual assignments consisted of reading and discussion boards. I was not worried at all with group projects like I have been in the past. I usually hate working in groups because I am usually the one that does all of the work. But, in this class it was different. Part of it was because I happened to get a great group. The other part is that Davi is understanding that we can’t control what other people do or don’t do. She grades us as a group in a way when she comments, but when it is in each of our grade books, the grade is ours based on our time sheets and posts. I really enjoyed this class and will miss it. Hopefully I will get a chance to have Davi again. I know I am going to miss her and my team members.
I did not intend to take this course but the topic was of interest. It far exceeded my expectations and the instructor was the main reason. She was helpful and responsive and a wonderful example of what online classes can be…if only they were all like this!
Yes they definitely met my expectations! I learned a lot and it was relevant to what I’m learning/experiencing with media today. I really liked the assignments and the freedom we had to choose some of our topics. Some of the assignments were a fun way to learn and apply what we were learning!
Yes, this course was an extremely interesting topic and kept me engaged and interested. I would highly recommend students to take this course.
Comm 321, Summer 2014
Davi is flexible, understanding of students’ difficulties. Good teaching!.
I really liked the great use of outside resources, like when we skyped people.
Absolutely fun and educational learning and teaching style!
This was the best class I have taken at WSU. I really appreciated the time Davi put into the class. She really cared that we gout something out of the class.
I loved our interaction with professionals and outdoor activities, Davi is awesome!
I would love to see more of Davi in future class, she is the best professor I have had in the last 4 years at WSU. Stop giving her [Kallman] research, students deserve the pleasure of having her as a professor.
Comm102, Section 6, Summer 2013
The instructor was very friendly and passionate about what she teaches.
Davi is awesome, she made the class interesting and fun!
Davi is one of those teachers that you find once in your lifetime. She is caring, kind, and smart. She will do whatever it takes to help out her students and goes above and beyond what is expected for the class. We got to play games in class and she brought us candy. I recommend her as a teacher.
Davi went out of her way to schedule Skype sessions with professionals who had experience in our subject. These were very beneficial because it allowed us the opportunity to ask questions and understand the perception of the professionals. Also, Davi used creative in class activities that exemplified the course material. These were beneficial because they promoted team work as well as individual growth. Personally, I have ran in to Davi outside of class and she continues to make sure that I am doing well and she always offers to help with anything academically related. It is wonderful to have a professor that cares about your personal success.
Everyone in the class thought Davi was a great professor because she conveyed the information in a creative and meaningful way. Also, she promoted in class discussions and valued our opinions. My entire class enjoyed the class and Davi’s teaching style because she made learning fun, but still challenging. You could tell by the way we spoke to Davi that we respected her and valued her as a professor.
Davi is the best professor that I have had during my 4 years at Washington State University. Initially I was intimidated by the class, but Davi inspired me to learn, and I use what she taught me in class on a daily basis. In addition, It is apparent that Davi cares about her students academic and personal success. She motivates you to do the best you can and to be the best person you can be. Also, Davi put a lot of time and effort into structuring the class in a fun and creative way. She is a great communicator, with an enthusiastic and empathetic tone. Overall, I believe she deserves the excellence award because she exemplifies excellence. Washington State University is world class face to face and Davi exceeds that standard.
Davi was always prepared. For our communications class she prepared lecture slides, open discussion groups, Skype sessions, and in class activities. During the lectures Davi was able to convey the material in a meaningful way. Her tone was enthusiastic and she inspired students to learn. You could definitely tell that she was prepared because she spoke to us about the lecture material instead of reading it off the slides. She knew the information and she conveyed it in a meaningful way. The Skype sessions and in class activities were designed to support the class material. These were a great addition to the class that Davi made sure we were prepared for. Before each Skype session or in class activity she would make sure that we were aware of what was to be expected, what was to be discussed, and when the sessions and activities were occurring.
Written Comments from Colleagues and Supervisors
Fall 2012-Fall 2015
Ms. Kallman has demonstrated tremendous skills with mastery of new-prep course content and delivery strategies, applying innovative tools to ensure that students engage with material and with one another whether the course is face-to-face or online. Her expectations for student performance are high while her support for student learning styles is strong. She is unafraid to try something new and to take on a challenging assignment. Some students indicated that they signed up for the new, online class because they wanted to have her as their instructor again. Her Com 321 class earned a cumulative average student evaluation score of 4.99 on a 5-point scale, which is amazing to me. At least two students wrote that it was the best course or she was the best professor they had ever taken at WSU, and most students in the class would have been juniors or seniors.
(Erica Austin, Co-Provost, Director of the Murrow Center for Media and Health Promotion)
Davi has definitely gone above and beyond what is expected as a Graduate Student Instructor. First and foremost, Davi was instrumental in the development of the course. This is a rare opportunity for graduate students. Using this privilege, Davi built in unique course element. Davi coordinates guest speakers from different colleges to teach her class special lectures. She has done this is previous courses and it always listed as a memorable and beneficial part of the class. Davi also created a twitter account for the course. This account serves as another form of communication between her and the students. It also gives the students the ability to communicate with one another, the authors of the articles the class reads, and other academics and professionals in the communication field. This is an exciting and innovative way to work contemporary media into the classroom environment. Davi collaborates with her students with their research. By the end of the semester, each in student in the class will have a conference-ready paper. This is not a typical experience for students in an undergraduate course. She is also encouraging her students to submit their papers to the Wiley Research Exposition to give them experience presenting their research.
(Stephanie Ebreo, WSU Murrow College Alumni)
Davi is generally thought to be one of the strongest graduate student teachers in our department. Not only do her class evaluations reflect this, but undergraduates regularly compliment her teaching ability and recommend her classes to other students. She has also received an “exceeds expectations” in the department’s annual evaluation of her teaching.
(Whitney Stefani, WSU Murrow College Graduate Student and Colleague)
It is virtually unheard of for a third year PhD student to develop an upper level course, let alone to successfully implement that course. Davi put so much energy and time into her course, that its success was not surprising to those who saw her working on the section. I believe that she deserves the award because of her dedication to her students, her commitment to providing excellence in teaching a communication course, and her ability to create a one of a kind course that is not found at any other major institutions.
(C. Kit Kaiser, WSU Murrow College Graduate Student and Colleague)
Fall 2011-Spring 2012
Among my duties in the UTEP Department of Communication is the supervision and mentoring of all graduate students who are assigned to work with classroom instruction of the basic public speaking course as part of their duties as Teaching Assistants. I have worked closely with Davi Kallman since Fall 2011 in this capacity, communicating with her on a weekly basis and carefully scrutinizing all elements in her work as a teaching assistant. I have supervised numerous teaching assistants over the years in similar assignments, and I am happy to tell you that Davi Kallman is clearly the most outstanding and gifted young teacher I have worked with in years. She is highly intelligent and well read, and is energized by a creative talent for research and inquiry, all being positive elements in a good teacher and scholar. Her level of preparation for her teaching duties is uniformly excellent. She is, in addition, quite mature and handles task management superbly, showing both a fine work ethic and good common sense in her time management and work completion skills. In the classroom, she is warm, nurturing, and charismatic, all strong positives in good teaching, while at the same time maintaining good discipline and control over her classroom. I have observed her on numerous occasions going quite beyond the normal range of commitment to her teaching duties, spending time beyond what is required in order to give her students the best chances for good outcomes in their learning. She is a superb role model for our students, and I have observed that students of all skill levels thrive under her guidance. Although she has the intellectual capacity and research skills to make a fine primary researcher, if she chooses to select teaching as her career goal, I predict that she will become a master teacher and will influence many young lives for the better in her career. I can say without reservation that Davi I. Kallman has not only met all challenges, but has been one of the most hardworking, effective, and outstanding graduate students I have worked with in the last fifteen years. I have determined that she is and will increasingly become a productive and effective teacher/scholar, and that her creativity, her capacity for initiation and application of ideas, and her ability to accomplish her goals serve to reinforce her excellent potential as a teacher as well as a scholar.
(Mary Trejo, Associate Professor of Communication, Director, UTEP Forensics Program)
Teaching Awards
GPSA2014 Student Instructor Award
Washington State University, November, 2015
Each year the Graduate and Professional Student Association give excellence awards in four categories: Graduate Teaching Assistant, Graduate Research Assistant, Graduate Student Instructor, and Academic Advisor. Nominations are accepted from students, peers, and advisors in the fall, spring, and summer. Selected nominees will receive an Award of Excellence plaque and be recognized at the GPSA Annual Awards Luncheon. I was nominated for the Fall 2014 Student Instructor award and was one of two graduate students selected for this prestigious award.
UTEP Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student
University of Texas at El Paso, April 4, 2012
Every Year the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) selects one graduate student to be the recipients of the UTEP Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student. This award is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Graduate School and highlights student teaching that excels in both improving and motivating student success. I was nominated by my peers and course supervisor and was chosen for this award.