Teaching

Over the past fifteen years, Dr. Spangler has served as an educator in six countries in North America, Latin America, and East Asia. He has experience teaching in multiple disciplines to students from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds. A selection of courses that he has taught are listed below, along with details about course content, institution, and other relevant information.

Public Speaking

International Affairs and Diplomacy Program, Ming Chuan University

  • Spring 2019
  • Undergraduate

This course focuses on analyzing a rhetorical situation and crafting a strategic and effective response. It aims to equip students with the tools needed to plan, practice, and deliver speeches to an audience with an emphasis on the diverse contexts encountered in the fields of international affairs and diplomacy.

Cultural and Educational Exchanges between Rival States

International Doctoral/Master’s Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, National Chengchi University

  • Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2014
  • Postgraduate (PhD and MA), co-taught with Dr. Chuing Prudence Chou

This course provides an overview of key perspectives, approaches, and frameworks related to exchanges between societies whose relations have been characterized by tensions or conflict. It investigates a series of case studies from around the world and provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to conduct their own research in peace education, cross-cultural interaction, international security, and conflict studies.

Comparative Education

International Doctoral/Master’s Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, National Chengchi University; Department of Education, National Chengchi University

  • Spring 2018, Spring 2017
  • Postgraduate (PhD and MA), co-taught with Dr. Chuing Prudence Chou

This course offers a set of tools for conducting rigorous comparative analyses in education, politics, and other fields. The units and levels of analysis covered range from local to international, are intended to be broadly applicable across disciplines, and highlight the importance of considering diversity and equity issues in all academic research.

International Educational Database Analysis

Department of Education, National Chengchi University

  • Spring 2017
  • Postgraduate (PhD and MA), co-taught with Dr. Mei-shiu Chiu

This course provides a comprehensive overview of international educational databases, research methods commonly used for working with them, and training with relevant statistical software. As guest instructor, my role was to provide students with the basic skills required – and perhaps more importantly, the confidence needed – to use the R programming language for conducting statistical analyses of large-scale international databases.

Instructional Psychology

Department of Education, National Chengchi University

  • Fall 2014
  • Postgraduate (PhD and MA), co-taught with Dr. Mei-shiu Chiu

This course provides a foundational knowledge of theories and case studies in instructional psychology and empowers students with the skills needed to conduct their own research and writing in the field. As guest instructor, my role was to introduce students to large-scale international databases and provide basic tools for planning their research, conducting statistical analyses, and writing academic research papers.

English as a Foreign Language

Multiple programs at various institutions

  • 2007–2012
  • Ages 2–70

Over the years, these courses have addressed the unique needs of students from all age cohorts and of diverse personal, professional, and socioeconomic backgrounds. From Latin America to East Asia, all were taught with a consideration for the cultural nuances involved in international education.

Introduction to International Relations

School of International Studies, University of Nottingham Ningbo, China

  • Spring 2009
  • Undergraduate, guest lecturer

Lectures and discussions in this course focused on the application of established international relations theories to current affairs in global politics with an emphasis on East and Southeast Asia.