Teaching students critical thinking skills through collaboration, mentorship, and interactive pedagogical methods underlies what I believe education in peace and conflict studies can be. I enjoy teaching a variety of courses, from basic Methods courses to Introductory Political Science courses to those more specialized in alternative dispute resolution, conflict studies, peace studies, political psychology, social identity, gender, and the Middle East.
Since 2006 I have also been engaged in understanding alternative classroom spaces from high-school education within mental health facilities to experiential university programs, such as simulations and study abroad. During my tenure at the University of California Irvine I had the pleasure of studying and working with collaborative classrooms, flipped classrooms, and online education, resulting in both ongoing work and a publication in on the Olive Tree Initiative as an educational program (Brunstetter, Solomon, & Wehrenfennig).
Teaching is something I am passionate about as a forum for inspiring future leadership and for continually learning myself. My classrooms are spaces that honor risk, personally connecting to material, and active listening. I take pride in spending extra time with each student and understanding his/her/their personal needs. This includes working with students with disabilities, for whom english is a second language, who hail from STEM fields, who are first generation college students, and any other student who might benefit from extra time taken to work on long and short form communication skills. I believe these skills translate within and beyond the classroom.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my teaching including classes I am prepared to teach, teaching scores and records, and/or example syllabi. If you would like information about my current courses at Grinnell College, please feel free to contact me as well.
Since 2006 I have also been engaged in understanding alternative classroom spaces from high-school education within mental health facilities to experiential university programs, such as simulations and study abroad. During my tenure at the University of California Irvine I had the pleasure of studying and working with collaborative classrooms, flipped classrooms, and online education, resulting in both ongoing work and a publication in on the Olive Tree Initiative as an educational program (Brunstetter, Solomon, & Wehrenfennig).
Teaching is something I am passionate about as a forum for inspiring future leadership and for continually learning myself. My classrooms are spaces that honor risk, personally connecting to material, and active listening. I take pride in spending extra time with each student and understanding his/her/their personal needs. This includes working with students with disabilities, for whom english is a second language, who hail from STEM fields, who are first generation college students, and any other student who might benefit from extra time taken to work on long and short form communication skills. I believe these skills translate within and beyond the classroom.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my teaching including classes I am prepared to teach, teaching scores and records, and/or example syllabi. If you would like information about my current courses at Grinnell College, please feel free to contact me as well.

Courses
Grinnell College
Negotiation and Mediation: Non-Violent Dispute Resolution Foundations
The Political Psychology of Gender in Politics
University of Haifa*
Peace Psychology
*current working collaboration with Haifa for Summer 2017
Chapman University
Research Methods in Peace Studies
University of California, Irvine
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute: Religion and Politics in the Middle East
Mediation
San Diego State University
Women (Gender) in Public Policy
Alternative Dispute Resolution, ISCOR 421
Guest Lecturer:
Mediation at UC Irvine
International Studies Public Forum at UC Irvine: Guest Lecturer on UCI Peace Initiative/ Mediation
Model United Nations at UC Irvine: Guest Lecturer on India/ Pakistan Conflict
Naturalistic Field Research at UC Irvine: Guest Lecturer on Interviewing
Seminar in Conflict Resolution at UC Irvine
Ethics of Difference at UC Irvine
Intro to Psychology 7A/9A at UC Irvine
Additional Teaching Assistant Courses**:
International Studies Public Forum at UC Irvine
Comparing Cultures at UC Irvine
Social Movements at UC Irvine
International Relations at UC Irvine)
Social Psychology at UC Irvine: Teaching and Research Assistant
** For many of the above courses I also served as a teaching assistant concurrently to guest lecturing or prior to lecturing or instructing.
Comments on SDSU ADR class:
"Johanna made this class fun and interactive, very different and refreshing than the usual 3 hour lectures I am used to. I got to get up and interact with my classmates, I learned important concepts while making new friends. She was a great instructor and I would recommend this class to any SDSU student, ISCOR major or not."
"This was a challenging class, but I would be surprised if any student regretted taking the class, or put anything less than above average on any part of this survey. This was an outstanding class."
"Johanna really tried to make this an interactive class so we could actually learn concepts through practical application. The use of simulations and group activities was amazing and should be done in every class, all the time. Students were engaged and collaborating with each other. I personally just had a good time and that is not something you can say about a class usually. She was very approachable and eager to get feedback from students. She wanted to help each person as much as she could."
"The overall class experience was outstanding.... This class was especially beneficial to me due to the practical scenarios that we went through in class. Personally, I value practical experience over just learning theoretical concepts, which happens often in a lot of college level classes, not yours though.... The different scenarios covering issues from interpersonal conflict to global conflict was truly a unique experience. At first I did not think we were going to be able to fit in all of those activities, but you made it work....
I have been able to take my experiences learned in class and apply them to my personal life when interacting with people and professional work as a Border Patrol Agent... There is always conflict to deal with- whether it is an office related conflict or a work related conflict dealing with national security. While it may not necessarily be the case that I will be acting as a mediator or negotiator in a conflict, the principles of alternative dispute resolution are useful to bring an end or reasonable outcome to a conflict. Even the mere ability to analyze situations from an Alternative Dispute Resolution mindset has been valuable to add another tool to my ability to assess different situations. More recently I have been able to use my negotiation skills learned in the ADR 421 class while performing my duties as a Union Representative.. I have been able to draw from the negotiations knowledge that I received in your class and use it to make recommendations to the local Union President and members...I think that the limits are endless to being able to apply Alternative Dispute Resolution concepts to everyday life no matter what a persons personal or professional background may be. ."
Comment on Guest Lectures:
"Johanna is very knowledgeable and is very articulate. When Professor Howard put her in charge of teaching the last lecture, it was probably the most interesting lecture of that class the entire quarter. I thought she did a very good job and was able to relate every concept to a story which made things a lot easier to understand, not to mention, it kept most of the students engaged and interested.."
Comment on Discussion Sections:
"She has a good knowledge of the subject and even made nice discussion worksheets to help us learn and interact with the learning material during the discussion sections. So unlike other discussion sections I’ve been to for other classes, she did not waste our time. She did her best to answer any and all questions anyone had. Once two students made some pretty ignorant comments, even though they did it with no ill-will. Rather than making them feel bad or just letting it roll, she did the best thing when she simply respectfully informed them (educated them) and cleared all misconceptions. She was actually nice and even brought candy for Thanksgiving break. Also, I could see her trying to help the professor out in class sometimes, more than other TAs. I liked her a lot of the examples she used to make concepts clear. "
Comments on Internship and Outside Opportunities:
"“Outside mediation opportunities were very helpful to engage what we learned in a real-world environment.”