Teaching

As of fall of 2023, I am teaching my second term of Sociology 101 (Sociological Perspectives). Teaching has quickly become a passion, as I find it deeply fulfilling to demonstrate to undergrad students that thinking sociologically is useful not only in our discipline, but across majors, in the workforce, and in our personal lives. I especially enjoy introducing students to the rigorous methods that guide sociological thinking and research.

My 101 course is designed specifically to allow students to demonstrate growth. Students work all term long on a practice research proposal exploring a question of their choice, broken down into smaller sub-assignments. The purpose of this design is three-fold: 1) it allows students to explore an area of special interest to them, 2) it reinforces to students that sociology is a social science, and 3) it allows them to receive and incorporate feedback from me and their peers as they go. 

Recognizing that students have unique learning styles, I intentionally use multiple methods of content delivery, including interactive lectures, small group discussions, review games, practice quizzes, and video clips illuminating sociological concepts. I work from the assumption that all students want to learn and grow, and that each student already comes to the course with valuable knowledge and perspectives to share.

Student Feedback

Teaching Fellow: SOCI 101 (Summer 2023)

"Professor Shelton–Ormond did a great job making learning easy. She used a mixture of teaching methods to help everyone in the class learn better."

"Anna came to every class with a well–prepared and clear lesson plan. She had multiple formats of activities (lectures, large class discussion, small group discussion, PollEv, videos) that helped students engage with course concepts differently. She treated every student with respect and heard out everyone's contributions, relating them back to course concepts no matter how off topic we would get. I also appreciate how willing she was to talk to students after class about course material as well as answer questions related to sociology and research in general. Amazing instructor! 10/10 would recommend her to anyone with any interest in sociology."

"Anna had a great outline for the class, and the course–long research question was a really good way for us to interact with the course content deeply."

"The research proposal was really fun, and I liked that it was allowed us to investigate questions we had individual interest in. I also appreciated its format of being broken down into smaller parts throughout the summer. It made the whole project very manageable. I specifically found the one–on–one methods meeting and the peer review most helpful and engaging."

Guest Lecture on Qualitative Methods in SOCI 251 (Spring 2023)


"Anna taught at a well pace, kept us all interactive, and made the material interesting to learn about!"


"She made everything super clear and was great at answering questions"


"The energy and enthusiasm brought to the lecture made it easy and compelling to listen to."


"I was unsure on how to [build an interview guide] before the lecture and it offered a lot of clarity."


Courses: TF and TA

Teaching Fellow

Fall 2023: SOCI 101 (Sociological Perspectives)

Summer 2023: SOCI 101 (Sociological Perspectives)

Teaching Assistant

Spring 2023: SOCI 251 (Data Collection Methods)

Fall 2022: SOCI 180 (Global Population Health)

Spring 2022: SOCI 101 (Sociological Perspectives)

Fall 2021: SOCI 130 (Marriage and Family)

Spring 2021: SOCI 122 (Race and Ethnicity)

Fall 2020: SOCI 122 (Race and Ethnicity)