Professor · Speaker · Researcher
Professor of English, rhetoric, composition, and literary studies with more than a decade of experience in education and extensive experience within online higher education. My work is grounded in the belief that language remains one of the most influential forces shaping culture, identity, scholarship, and human connection.
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Presentations on digital pedagogy, faculty mental models, rhetoric, and engagement in higher education.
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Featured presentation
University of Arizona Global Campus Conference
This presentation examined the influence of faculty mental models on student engagement, communication, instructional practices, and equity within online higher education environments. Grounded in systems thinking and educational research, it explored how deeply embedded assumptions about teaching, learning, communication, and student capability shape classroom experiences within digital spaces.
The discussion emphasized reflective teaching practices, inclusive communication, adaptability, and intentional engagement strategies, along with the ethical integration of digital tools and artificial intelligence.
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02 · Teaching Philosophy
The study of language and communication is ultimately the study of influence, interpretation, and human connection.
Teaching, to me, exists at the intersection of communication, inquiry, interpretation, and intellectual development. The classroom is not simply a space for the transfer of information. It is a space where students learn how language influences thought, how rhetoric shapes perception, and how communication affects the ways individuals participate within academic, professional, and social environments.
Ultimately, I view education as a process that should strengthen intellectual confidence and deepen students' ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and engage responsibly with ideas.
Much of my work as an educator focuses on helping students recognize writing and communication as forms of influence rather than isolated academic exercises. Whether students are composing arguments, analyzing literature, participating in discussion, or delivering presentations, I encourage them to consider audience, context, perspective, and the broader implications of language itself. Literature and rhetoric remain particularly important within my teaching because they provide opportunities for students to examine culture, identity, ethics, representation, and communication through both analytical and personal lenses.
My experience within online higher education has also shaped the way I approach engagement, accessibility, and instructional communication. Digital classrooms require intentionality. Students should feel intellectually present within the course rather than positioned at a distance from it. Because of this, I value instructional practices that encourage dialogue, interaction, flexibility, and meaningful participation while still maintaining academic rigor and high expectations. I am especially interested in how evolving technologies, media environments, and artificial intelligence continue reshaping the ways students read, write, communicate, and interpret information.
Long after students leave a course, the ability to analyze language, evaluate information, communicate persuasively, and think independently remains essential within both academic and everyday life.
Teaching
Classrooms spanning secondary education, higher education, online learning, tutoring, and interdisciplinary instruction.
Higher education courses taught
Degrees & expertise
Educational experience
Certifications
Online higher education
Teaching is not simply the transfer of information. It is the cultivation of thought, voice, and intellectual confidence.
Digital classrooms require intentional course design and instructional strategies that encourage students to remain active participants in discussion, analysis, research, and collaboration rather than passive recipients of information.
My approach incorporates discussion-driven learning, multimedia integration, rhetorical analysis, written reflection, and interactive communication practices that help students think critically while strengthening their academic voices.
Research
My research examines the relationship between language, storytelling, communication, education, and representation within both academic and public spaces. Drawing from literary studies, rhetoric, higher education, and digital communication, my work focuses on how narratives, institutional systems, and evolving technologies shape engagement, identity, persuasion, and cultural understanding.
As a Ph.D. researcher in English, I am interested in the ways educational structures, literary traditions, and digital environments influence whose voices are amplified, how knowledge is communicated, and how individuals engage with information within increasingly technology-driven spaces.
The historical predominance of traditional Western literary canons within higher education and the marginalization of diverse voices, and how canon formation influences curriculum design, student engagement, and perceptions of literary value.
The role rhetoric plays in shaping public discourse, educational communication, and social influence, including persuasive writing, public speaking, audience awareness, and the ethics of rhetorical strategy in contemporary media.
Engagement, communication, and instructional practice within online higher education, including faculty mental models, student participation, accessibility, and the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
How storytelling influences identity, social perception, morality, and collective understanding, with particular interest in crime fiction, thriller narratives, and social commentary.
Publications
A developing archive of scholarly publications, conference research, academic writing, and interdisciplinary research projects related to literature, rhetoric, communication, higher education, and digital pedagogy.
While peer-reviewed publications are currently in development, ongoing research projects and conference scholarship continue contributing to broader conversations surrounding higher education, communication, literary studies, and instructional practice.
For students
Guides and worksheets to support your writing, research, and communication coursework. Free to download.
Lessons from my classroom
Notion template · $3
Keep every course, assignment, and due date organized in one place with a ready-to-use Notion app.
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Online content for students on writing, research, and college success.
For educators
Sharing tips and insights on how to be a phenomenal educator, building connections, and leveraging tech in the classroom. Higher ed tips for educators on LinkedIn, and online content for students on YouTube.
The book
A higher education guide to dominating in higher education teaching. Have 18 or more graduate credit hours and want to teach in higher education? Your journey starts here.
Let's work together
Effective teaching begins with reflection. The ways educators think about communication, engagement, and learning ultimately shape the environments students experience.
For Capstone & Dissertation Writers
Practical, printable PDF guides from Professor Carter to help you plan, write, and finish your doctoral project. Start with the free guides, or get the Dissertation Toolkit bundle and save.
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The Doctoral Writing ChecklistA stage-by-stage check for every dissertation and capstone writer.
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Theoretical vs. Conceptual FrameworkA plain-language guide to choosing, explaining, and using your framework.
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