Chris Nielson
Residential Faculty
Department: English, Reading, Journalism & Creative Writing
Contact Information
Campus: Main
Office Number: O5-131
Email: christopher.nielson@gccaz.edu
Phone number: (623) 845-4486
Office Hours:
Tue. & Thurs, (in-person): 11.30 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.
Wed, (virtual): 9 - 11 a.m.
Also available by appointment.
Bio
Biography
When I went to college to earn my bachelor’s degree in English Literature, I did not plan on becoming a teacher. But then two inspiring professors asked me to be part of a team of graduate students that would travel with them to Shanghai, China to teach at an intensive English summer camp for three hundred pre-teen and teenage Chinese kids. These two professors provided us with guidance on how to create lesson plans and assignments, while also helping us begin to understand the intricacies of teaching and learning. And with that, they ignited a passion for teaching within me that I didn’t know I had. Because of that influential summer trip, I went to graduate school to get a master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language and have since taught a wide array of ESL, English, and writing courses in California and Arizona, while continuing to learn more about the craft of teaching and learning. However, as I first experienced while teaching in China many years ago, one truth remains consistent today: the classroom provides an opportunity for all of us to learn from each other. This ideal is at the core of my teaching philosophy and has helped me develop my role as a facilitator in the classroom and the belief that it is my job to create learning opportunities in a welcoming, comfortable, and inclusive learning environment for all students.
In 2008 I set my roots here at GCC and am so happy I did; GCC is an excellent college. I have taught quite a few different courses in the GCC English Department, but for the last six years, I have focused on First-year Composition (ENG 101 and 102) in a variety of formats (16-week face-to-face; 12-week and 16-week online; 8-week hybrid) to help meet the varying needs and schedules of our student population. Outside of the classroom but still on campus, I work regularly with colleagues to create learning opportunities and experiences for our faculty and extended college community. There are always opportunities to learn, and I continue to grow and learn daily through parenting, traveling, reading, playing, discussing, and listening.