Teaching Portfolio:

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CURRICULUM VITAE
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EDUCATION:
 Ph.D. in Linguistics    Indiana University  (Bloomington, IN) 2011-2014 
  - Focus:   Phonetics, phonology and sociolinguistics
  - Minor:   Finnish language studies
  - Dissertation Title:
   "The sociophonetic and acoustic vowel dynamics of Michigan's Upper Peninusla English"
  M.A. in Linguistics     Indiana University  (Bloomington, IN) 2008-2011 
  - Focus:   General Linguistics and Central Eurasian Studies
  - Finnish and Swedish   ( FLAS Fellowships , 2008-2010)
  B.A. in English     Michigan State University   (East Lansing, MI) 2005-2008 
  - Major:   English,  Secondary Education
  - Minor:   Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)




ACADEMIC POSITIONS and EXPERIENCE:
Independently-taught Courses:
Course Title Course Code Status Location Semester
Historical Linguistics (LIN205) Visiting Assist. Professor UR-Rochester, NY Spring 2015
Language and Social Identity (LIN102) Visiting Assist. Professor UR-Rochester, NY Spring 2015
Intro. to Language Sound Systems (LIN110) Visiting Assist. Professor UR-Rochester, NY Fall 2014
Intro. to Linguistic Analysis (LIN110) Visiting Assist. Professor UR-Rochester, NY Fall 2014; Spring 2015
Laboratory Phonetics (LIN471) Visiting Lecturer MSU-East Lansing, MI Spring 2014
Sociolinguistics (LIN471) Visiting Lecturer MSU-East Lansing, MI Fall 2013
Introduction to Linguistics (LIN401) Visiting Lecturer MSU-East Lansing, MI Fall 2013; Spring 2014
Language and Society [ONLINE] (ENG394) Adjunct Lecturer MSU-Morehead, KY Spring 2013
Language: Culture and Mind [ONLINE] (ENG205) Adjunct Lecturer MSU-Morehead, KY Fall 2012; Fall 2013



Cooperatively-taught Courses (as an Associate Instructor):
Course Title Course Code Supervisor Location Semester
The Ebonics Controversy (LING-C103) Dr. Stuart Davis IU-Bloomington, IN Fall 2012
Dialects and Language Variation (LING-C103) Dr. Brian Jose IU-Bloomington, IN Spr. 2012
Intro. to Lingusitic Analysis (LING-L303) Dr. Ken de Jong IU-Bloomington, IN Fall 2011
Introductory Phonetics (LING-L541) Dr. Ken de Jong IU-Bloomington, IN Spr. 2011
Intro. to Lingusitic Analysis (LING-L303) Dr. Ken de Jong IU-Bloomington, IN Fall 2010


Guest Lecturer:
Course Title Course Code Instructor Location Semester
Methods in Linguistic Research (LING-L501) Dr. Scott Grimm UR-Rochester, NY Fall 2014
Intro. to Linguistic Analysis (LING-L103) Dr. Ken de Jong IU-Bloomington, IN Fall 2012
Speech and Voice Science (SL220) Jim Zeigler CCC-SLP NMU-Marquette, MI Spr. 2011
Intro. to Phonetics (LING-L306) Dr. Brian Jose IU-Bloomington, IN Fall 2010


Other Positions:
Position Title Employer Supervisor Location Semester
Editor's Assistant Journal of Phonetics Dr. Ken de Jong IU-Bloomington, IN Fall 2011





PUBLICATIONS:
Peer-review Journals:

Rankinen, Wil (2014). “The Michigan Upper Peninsula Vowel System in Finnish-American Communities in Marquette County", American Speech, Volume 89, Number 3, 312-347.



WORKING PAPERS:
Title Co-authors Publisher Submitted Date
"A Bayesian Approach to
Cross-Speaker Vowel Normalization"
Aaron Albin LV&C TBA TBA
"Where'd the Preposition go?
A perceptual-based account of
NULL locative prepositions for younger raters
in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula"
SA AS TBA TBA
“The Entanglement of Dialectal Variety and
Speaker Normalization”
Ken de Jong IULC-WP TBA TBA
“Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Vowel Systems:
Acoustic vowel characteristics of Finnish-and Italian-American communities”
SA LV&C TBA TBA
Note: Abbreviations
AS - American Speech
IULC-WP - Indiana Univeristy Linguistic Club Working Papers
LV&C - Language Variation and Change
SA - Single-authored




UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS:
Title Type Date
“Phonetic and Phonological Charactristics of Susu:
A phonetic and phonological account of a susu vowel and consonant system”
Graduate term-paper 2011
“The Acoustic Characteristics of a Susu Vowel System” Graduate term-paper 2010
“Acoustic Vowel Characteristics of Immigrant-heritage and Language-dominance Effects among Finnish-and Italian-American Communities” Graduate term-paper 2010
“Acoustic Vowel Quality Differences in Speech Tasks: Finnish-and Italian-American Communities from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula” Graduate term-paper 2010
“The Optionality of Directional Prepositions in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula:
A descriptive analysis of a perceptual sentence acceptability-rating task”
Graduate term-paper 2009
“An Upper Peninsula of Michigan Vowel System:
A Preliminary Study"
Undergraduate
term-paper
2009




PRESENTATIONS and PUBLIC INTERVIEWS:
Title Co-authored Site Location Date
“Location and Heritage Effects
on the Vowel Characteristics among Monolingual English speakers
from Michigan's U.P."
SA OSU Symposium Columbus,
OH
April 2013
“Hierarchical Bayesian modeling
of vowel formant data:
Speaker-intrinsic and speaker-extrinsic
approaches compared
Aaron Albin ASA Kansas City,
MO
October 2012
“Where'd the Preposition go?
An account of locative prepositional deletion
in Michigan’s UP speech community"
SA AS Portland,
OR
January 2012
“A weird and peculiar story:
Variation and change in North American adjectives
Sali Tagliamonte
et al.
LSA Portland,
OR
January 2012
“A Bayesian Statistical Approach
to Vowel Normalization”
Aaron Albin NWAV Washington,
DC
October 2011
“The Entanglement of Dialect Variety
and Speaker Normalization”
Ken de Jong LSA Pittsburg,
PA
January 2011
“Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Vowel System:
Finnish-and Italian-American Communities
SA LSA Baltimore,
MD
January 2010
“Sounding Out a Dialect:
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Vowel Systems
SA Iron Mining Museum Negaunee,
MI
August 2009
“Linguistic Patterns in Michigan” Dennis Preston Points North
News Radio
Interlocken,
MI
Febuary 2008
"A Michigan Upper Peninsula Vowel System" SA AS Chicago,
IL
January 2008
“An Upper Peninsula of Michigan Vowel System" SA MSU-UURAF East Lansing,
MI
April 2007
Note: Abbreviations
ASA - Acoustical Society of America
ADS - American Dialects Society
LSA - Linguistic Society of America
MSU-UURAF - MSU University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum
NWAV - New Ways of Analyzing Variation (e.g., NWAV40)
OSU - Ohio State Unviersity (2013 Symposium on "Locating Language")
SA - Single-authored




AWARDS, GRANTS, and HONORS:
Title Sponsor Location Date
Outstanding Associate Instructor Award IU Linguistics Bloomington,
IN
2012-2013
ADS Travel Grant AS Portland,
OR
January 2012
IULC Travel Grant IULC Washington,
DC
October 2011
Linguistic Institute Fellowship LSA Boulder,
CO
Summer 2011
Graduate Research Fellowship Program
(Honorable Mention)
NSF Bloomington,
IN
2010-2011
IULC Travel Grant IULC Pittsburg,
PA
Januray 2010
Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship
(Finnish)
FLAS Bloomington,
IN
2009-2010
Finlandia Foundation National Scholarship Award FNN Bloomington,
IN
2009-2010
Center for International Mobility
Travel Scholarship
CIMO: Intensive Finnish program Savonlinna,
Finland
Summer 2009 (II)
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship
(Swedish)
FLAS Bloomington,
IN
Summer 2009 (I)
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship
(Finnish)
FLAS Bloomington,
IN
2008-2009
MSU Outstanding Senior Achievement Award CAL East Lansing,
MI
2007-2008
MSU Undergraduate Research Grant CAL-URI East Lansing,
MI
2007-2008
ADS Presidential Honoree AS Chicago,
IL
January 2008
ADS Travel Grant AS Chicago,
IL
January 2008
Rotary Youth Ambassador RIYEP Taipei,
Taiwan
2004-2005
Note: Abbreviations
ADS - American Dialects Society
CAL-URI - College of A&L Undergraduate Research Initiative
CIMO - Centre of International Mobility
FNN - Finlandia Foundation National
IULC - Indiana Univeristy Linguistic Club
LSA - Linguistic Society of America
MSU-UURAF - MSU University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum
NSF - National Science Foundation
NWAV - New Ways of Analyzing Variation (e.g., NWAV40)
RIYEP - Rotary International Youth Exchange Program
SA - Single-authored




LANGUAGE PROFIECENCIES:
  Native:
    - English
  Converstational:
    - Finnish and Mandarin
  Reading:
    - Finnish
  Structure:
    - Susou,  Swedish,  Spanish
      (i.a., English, Finnish, and Mandarin Chinese)




COMPUTATIONAL SOFTWARE and RELATED SKILLS:
 Computational languages:
   [R] Statistical and Computational language   Statistical testing; module testing;
  graphical generation and simulation
   LaTeX   Documents; presentations
   HTML   Web-designing


  Other Profiecencies:
    SPSS statistical software    Statistical testing;graphical generation
    Praat and WaveSufer    Acoustic software for recording and
   measuring speech
    Microsoft Excel (i.a., Microsoft Office)    Data handling





PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

Wil A. Rankinen

Ph.D. in Linguistics, Indiana University, 2011-2014

M.A. in Linguistics, Indiana University, 2008-2011

B.A. in English, Michigan State University, 2005‐2008



            In the past eight years in higher education, as both a student and an educator, I have come to view education as a social and academic platform centered on the ambitious goal to develop, inspire, and empower all students in their educational, professional, and personal endeavors. This perspective is a result of my educational and personal background. I was born and raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I studied abroad in Taiwan for my senior year of high school and then pursued an accelerated program at Michigan State University (2005-2008), where I majored in English (secondary education) and minored in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). During my undergraduate studies, I begun conducting linguistic research on English language variation and change among Finnish‐American communities in the Greater Lakes region, and eventually, I carried this research with me to graduate school. At Indiana University (2005-2013), I pursued a M.A. in General Linguistics and formally began my studies in Finnish language and culture. I will graduate from Indiana University with a Ph.D. in Linguistics by August 2013, with concentrations in sociolinguistics, phonetics, and linguistic field methods.

            Having graduated with degrees from both MSU, a national leader in Teacher Education, and IU, I have obtained a strong background in teaching ESL as a tutor at MSU and in teaching linguistics as an Associate Instructor in the Linguistic Department at IU. I am confident in my abilities to each beginning to intermediate courses in ESL, as well as, both undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of general linguistics, phonetics, phonology, syntax, field methods, and sociolinguistics. Furthermore, educational seminars and professional experiences that I have been involved with in tutoring and teaching over the years have shaped my understanding of learning and effective pedagogy. I strive to develop a flexible approach that embraces diverse learners’ needs and adjusts to environmental limitations. Therefore, I passionately favor a perspective that aligns with beliefs associated with multicultural education, where adaptive and problem‐posing approaches to teaching focus around the principles of inclusion, high expectations, and interaction in the framework of a dynamic classroom.

            I see learning as a complex process where learners can utilize their cognitive strengths and prior knowledge to make connections to unknown material in meaningful ways. Students are influenced by their individual learning styles (i.e., auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and verbal) and their culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse backgrounds. When material is made culturally relevant, and then approached and adapted to meet students’ needs, learners are more able to understand and make lasting connections by building upon the knowledge they already have. I have observed other educators improve students’ motivation and efficacy as a result of applying this socio‐cognitive perspective to enact the process of learning.

            Not all students are receptive to one specific style or approach to teaching. As a result, the more diversity I find among students leads to the challenge of equally and adequately meeting those students’ diverse needs. I support a variety of teaching approaches that range from lecture‐based instruction to student‐driven research and student‐lead discussions. Instead of focusing on and perfecting one style of teaching, I strive toward perfecting my ability to meet the needs of the classroom by developing a multifaceted perspective on learning and effective approaches to teach to diversity.

            My role as an educator is versatile. I may become the lecturer at one moment, while at others ‐ the director or facilitator of discussions, the mentor and guide of activities, or simply a resource for students’. As a motivator and a teacher, I have high expectations for my students’ academic work and participation. I strongly encourage student‐student dialogue that develops critical reflection and analytical skills. I believe students develop and gain a sense of their academic identity through this interaction with their peers; students then are more willing to take a stake, or an interest, in their own learning and education through individual and group assignments, presentations, and research projects.

            I feel that the purpose of an academic education is to teach learners how to learn and provide opportunities for them to apply what it is they learn. With support and guidance learners can approach unfamiliar problems with confidence and provide innovate solutions to them. Developing this ownership and independence in learning, learners are able to construct from a base of knowledge, and if they choose to do so, they can focus on a particular sphere of knowledge. Research is a tool that gives learners a testing‐ground to probe and answer unfamiliar questions. Moreover, this tool directly funnels learners’ in the construction of understanding through the multi‐phase process of formulating expectations, developing questions, gathering evidence, and interpreting of results. I feel that it is extremely important that education and research, at whatever level, is made relevant to society. As an educator, learners and researcher, I continually ask my students and myself some baseline but important questions (though not limited to):

  •       Why does the research matter and to whom does it matter?
  •       What are the implications of the research?
  •       How can I convey these clearly and effectively to an audience (e.g., local community, students, peers, etc.)?

            For me as an educator, research and teaching go hand‐in‐hand because I hope to maintain an educator‐researcher role that supports academic relevancy while providing quality and pertinent research for my students and the communities I serve. I strongly advocate for emphasizing the bridge between general and theoretical academic education with application and teaching experience. Respectfully,

Last Updated:    Summer 2012



TEACHING EXPERIENCES and COURSE RESPONSIBILITIES
Independently-Taught Courses:
Title of Course Responsibilities
  Langage and Society
       - Spring Semester 2013;
       - Online-based course (i.e., distant-learning);
       - Morehead State University (Morehead, KY).
  • Undergraduadute-level course (enrolled 30 students);
  • Designed and maintained course website, BlackBoard portal
    and related materials (e.g., syllabus, calendar, reading list, etc.);
  • Designed and maintained asynchronous iLectures;
  • Designed and graded all assignments and quizzes;
  • Assignment types: Question-sets, Article Review, Research Paper.
  Language: Culture and Mind
       - Fall Semester 2012;
       - Online-based course (i.e., distant-learning);
       - Morehead State University (Morehead, KY).
  • Undergraduadute-level course (enrolled 30 students);
  • Designed and maintained course website, BlackBoard portal
    and related materials (e.g., syllabus, calendar, reading list, etc.);
  • Designed and maintained asynchronous iLectures;
  • Designed and graded all assignments, quizzes, and exams;
  • Main assignment types: Question-sets and Discussion-threads.


Cooperatively-Taught Courses:
Title of Course Supervisor Responsibilities
  The Ebonics Controversy
       - Fall Semester 2012;
       - Class-based course (i.e., onesite-learning);
       - Indiana University (Bloomington, IN).
   Stuart Davis
  • Undergraduate-level course;
    co-taught with master-teacher and two AI;
  • Responsible for three discussion sections
    (each containing 15-20 students);
  • Maintained Oncourse portal;
  • Designed and graded reading-checks;
  • Co-graded assignments, quizzes, and tests;
  • Weekly meetings with master-teacher.
   Dialects and Language Variation
       - Spring Semester 2012;
       - Class-based course (i.e., onesite-learning);
       - Indiana University (Bloomington, IN).
  Dr. Brian Jose
  • Undergraduate-level course;
    co-taught with master-teacher and one AI;
  • Responsible for three discussion sections
    (each containing 15-20 students);
  • Responsible for preparation and implementation of one lecture;
  • Maintained Oncourse portal;
  • Designed and graded assignments;
  • Proctored exams and graded multiple-choice quizzes;
  • Co-graded final term-papers;
  • Weekly meetings with master-teacher.
   Intro. to Linguistic Analysis
       - Fall Semester 2010; Fall Semester 2011;
       - Class-based course (i.e., onesite-learning);
       - Indiana University (Bloomington, IN).
   Dr. Ken de Jong
  • Undergraduate-level course;
    co-taught with master-teacher and two AIs;
  • Responsible for two discussion sections;
    each containing 15-20 students;
  • Team-taught final 6-weeks of discussion sections with
    the other AI; (Topic: Morph/Synax via computer-aided modules);
  • Maintained Oncourse portal;
  • Graded weekly assignments;
  • Weekly meetings with master-teacher and other AI .
  Introductory Phonetics
       - Spring Semester 2011;
       - Class-based course (i.e., onesite-learning);
       - Indiana University (Bloomington, IN).
   Dr. Ken de Jong
  • Graduate-level course;
    co-taught with master-teacher and one AI;
  • Responsible for three discussion sections;
    each containing 8-15 students;
  • Maintained course website and Oncourse portal;
  • Graded weekly assignments;
  • Designed and proctored quizzes;
  • Co-graded final term-papers;
  • Weekly meetings with master-teacher.



COURSE EVALUATIONS
Independently-Taught Courses
Title of Course Evaluation
(Department Chair)
Evaluations
(from students)
  Language and Society [ONLINE]   Dr. Thomas Williams Upon Request Only
  Language: Culture and Mind [ONLINE]   Dr. Thomas Williams Upon Request Only


Cooperatively-Taught Courses
Title of Course Evaluation
(from master-teacher)
Evaluations
(from students)
  The Ebonics Controversy   Dr. Stuart Davis Upon Request Only
  Dialects and Language Variation   Dr. Brian Jose Upon Request Only
  Intro. to Lingusitic Analysis   Dr. Ken de Jong Upon Request Only
  Introductory Phonetics   Dr. Ken de Jong Upon Request Only



PURPOSED COURSE DESIGNS and CONTENT [beta]
Titles and Syllabi (samples) Course Summary Course Materials (samples)
   History of the English Language

       Syllabi:      Undergrads

   …
   World Englishes

       Syllabi:      Undergrads

   …
  Intro. to Phonetics

       Syllabi:      Undergrads

   …
  Intro. to Phonology

       Syllabi:      Undergrads

   …
  Intro. to Morphology

       Syllabi:      Undergrads

   …
  Intro. to Syntax

       Syllabi:      Undergrads

   …
  Intro. to Sociolinguistics

       Syllabi:      Undergrads or Grads

   …
  Intro to. Field Methods

       Syllabi:      Undergrads or Grads

   …
  Intro. to Speech and Voice Science

       Syllabi:      Undergrads or Grads

   …
  Other Course Topics (no material):
   Intro. to Dialectology | undergrads
   Media and Language Variation | undergrad
   Gender and Language | undergrad or grads
   Phonetic Theory and Methods | grads (and undergrads)
   Experimental Phonetics and Phonology | grads (and undergrads)
   Adv. Field Methods in Sociolinguistics | grads (and undergrads)
   Quantitative Methods in Linguistics | grads (and undergrads)
   The Production-Perception Mapping of Sound Change | grads (and undergrads)

  Still Others:

     Intro. to Semantics and Logic | undergrads
     Intro. to Pragmatics and Discourse | undergrads



© Wil Rankinen 2012