Teaching Experience
I have taught a wide range of undergraduate courses, including American politics, public policy, state and local politics, and research methods. My teaching is concentrated in American political institutions, with a focus on legislative politics and state and local governments. With several years of teaching experience at UCCS and UC Davis, and now UNF, I am well-prepared to offer courses on American political institutions (including Introduction to American Politics and Congress), state and local politics and public policy, democratic representation, and political elites, including topics like campaigns and elections, parties, and elite polarization.
Current Courses
My current courseload at UNF includes:
- Introduction to American Government — This is a survey course in American Politics. We begin with the institutional design of the US federal government before diving into political participation and behavior and ending with challenges to democratic integrity. (16-week syllabus, 6-week syllabus)
- Congress and the Legislative Process — This course is a deep-dive into the Article I branch of the US Constitution. We begin with the logic of bicameralism and legislative procedure. From there, we explore candidate recruitment, campaigns, and elections. Finally, we wrap up with challenges to our current system of shared powers but separate branches. (Syllabus/Reading List)
- Issues in State and Local Governance — In this class, we examine the benefits and drawbacks of a sprawling federal system. This class starts with a bird’s-eye view of institutional differences across the American states (e.g., term limits, direct democracy, taxation, partisan competition) before narrowing in on key public policy issues in state and local governance (e.g., homelessness, election administration, natural disasters). (Syllabus)
Past Courses
My courseload at UCCS included:
- Public Policy in California — This course sits at the intersection of public policy and public law in California, analyzing how institutional design and legal frameworks influence policy formulation and implementation. (Syllabus)
- Research Design in Public Policy — This class provides statistical training in undergraduate research methods, equipping students with the skills to design, conduct, and analyze original policy research.
- Governing California — This course provides an in-depth examination of state and local politics literature, analyzing the legal mechanics of state governance and comparing California’s government with those of other states.
- Readings in American Politics — This is a seminar on foundational texts in U.S. political science, alongside modern revisions and critiques, offering students a comprehensive understanding of the field’s key debates and developments.
An overview of my evaluations may be found here. Additional syllabi available upon request.
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy centers on two main objectives: imparting students with an appreciation of institutional design and enhancing their sense of political efficacy. I focus heavily on the “rules of the road,” prompting students to assess the intention and effectiveness of political institutions.
For example, in my Governing California course (UCCS), my students explored California’s unique governance structure, examining how institutional features, like the governor’s line-item veto and legislative term limits, shape policy outcomes distinct from other states. To offer practical insights, I invited guest speakers from various roles in state government, giving students a firsthand view of policymaking and career paths in public service.
To boost students’ political efficacy, I incorporate hands-on modules that connect current political issues with their historical context. For instance, when teaching Introduction to American Politics in 2020, I tailored the curriculum to address students’ interests in civil liberties and protest movements, specifically in the wake of the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. A class project comparing 2020 protest media coverage to the Civil Rights Era and Vietnam War protests enabled students to develop research and analytical skills while exploring real-time events.
But I also aim to be a chameleon in the classroom. For example, in the wake of the political violence in Minnesota and Utah this past summer, I adjusted by Introduction to American Government (UNF) course to discuss how recent acts of domestic terror related to existing comparative theories of political extremism, conspiracism, and democratic backsliding. My aim with this exercise was to help students digest what they were seeing live and ground their experiences in the larger literature on these very topics.
Integration of Research Into Teaching
My teaching is significantly informed by my research on state and local political institutions. A prime example of this integration is my dissertation, which delves deeply into California state politics. In my dissertation, I explore the role of legislative committees in shaping legislative outcomes in California. Specifically, I examine how these committees can either facilitate legislators’ productivity by streamlining the legislative process or hinder legislative progress through opaque decision-making practices behind closed doors. This research directly informs the content and discussions in my courses. For instance, I regularly incorporate policy case studies, such as California’s shifting of redistricting authority from a legislative committee to an independent citizens commission in 2008, to teach my students about gerrymandering, direct democracy, and local electoral competition.
Additionally, my policy research background, from my time at the Institute for Transportation Studies at UC Davis, adds real-world context to my teaching. Co-authoring policy briefs on transit regulations, including rideshare services like Uber and Lyft, has sharpened my ability to translate complex research into actionable insights for policymakers. This experience helps me convey the tangible impact of policy on students’ lives.
Lastly, I have aspirations to create a Legislative Innovations Lab at my next institution where students could engage in cutting-edge research on state legislative design and pursue their own original projects, including archival work, interviews, and data collection and analysis.
Future Course Offerings
I would love to each more courses emphasizing institutional design, particularly at the state level. At the undergraduate level, I would offer a Citizen Participation in Lawmaking and Governance course. This course would explore how institutions either foster or hinder citizen involvement across all government branches incorporating hands-on activities like mock hearings and lobbying exercises.
Additionally, I would like to develop an upper-division or graduate seminar on Democratic Representation and Legislative Organization. This seminar would analyze legislative structures (e.g., committees, caucuses, parliamentary rules) and their impact on policymaking, concluding with discussions on contemporary representation challenges, including diversity and identity politics amid rising affective polarization.
Lastly, I’d love to teach a class on Local Decisions, National Consequences at either the undergraduate or graduate level that explores the crucial role of state politics in shaping national political debates. The course would examine key legislative decisions, such as states’ adoption of sanctuary status, experiments in cannabis legalization, police reforms, and phased Medicaid expansion, all of which have significant national implications. Through case studies, students will learn to identify the interconnectedness of state and national politics, understand the legal challenges inherent to federalism, and appreciate how state-level decisions can influence the national policy agenda.
Paige Pellaton, PhD 