Teaching

Teaching philosophy, open course materials, and courses and workshops taught since 2013.

Lecture hall

Philosophy

As an educator, my paramount objective is to foster students’ intrinsic motivation to learn, explore, and embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and personal growth. Cultivating a genuine enthusiasm for knowledge serves as the cornerstone of my teaching philosophy. To achieve this, I strive to establish a nurturing and inspiring learning environment where students can develop a solid foundation in fundamental methodologies and theories. Equally important, I empower them to acquire essential skills that enable them to connect information and insights across various disciplines. Moreover, I emphasize the ability to critically assess concepts and ideas, taking into account their practical, ethical, and societal ramifications.

In addition to these goals, I endeavor to instill the confidence and self-efficacy necessary for students to fearlessly explore, question, critique, and engage with academic research. By doing so, my ultimate aspiration is for students to produce work that not only embodies scholarly excellence but also holds societal, theoretical, and pragmatic value.

Throughout my educational journey, I had the privilege of encountering remarkable classmates, teachers, and mentors who played a pivotal role in creating a profoundly positive and inspiring environment that fostered my personal growth. However, I recognize that not all students have the same opportunity. Therefore, my objective is to establish and promote an inclusive and safe classroom climate, particularly for those who may have faced personal bias or discrimination. In pursuit of this goal, I provide personal counseling and one-on-one support to address individual concerns and challenges. Furthermore, I approach sensitive topics and societal issues with a steadfast commitment to treating all human beings with respect and dignity. It is my aspiration that every student feels comfortable and motivated to participate in my classes.

I have taught several courses for undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Communication at the University of Hohenheim, the Department of Communication at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and in the Department of Communication Science at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Furthermore, I have taught several method workshops for researchers (e.g., at FU Berlin, the University of Rostock, the University of Hannover, or the Cornell University). If you are interested in learning R, we host an open repository for R tutorials (handouts and video tutorials) at https://github.com/ccs-amsterdam/r-course-material. I also sometimes post R tutorials on my YouTube channel. In the following, you can find an overview of the courses and workshops that I have conducted throughout the last years.

Open materials & course websites

MA Thesis Guide Guidance for MA students in Communication Science at the VU: from research question to defence.Quarto bookR course material Open handouts and video tutorials for learning R, maintained with CCS Amsterdam.Co-authorWorkshop: Multiverse analysis Materials for a one-day workshop on multiverse analysis with specr.Workshop materialsWorkshop: Bayesian statistics Materials for the workshop “Introduction to Bayesian Statistics” in R.Workshop materialsYouTube: R tutorials Short video tutorials on R and statistics.Videos

Courses and workshops

Courses at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

2025
Privacy, Self-Disclosure and Big Data
Seminar, graduate level
2024
Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
Lecture and practical sessions, graduate level, fall
Privacy, Self-Disclosure and Big Data
Seminar, graduate level
2023
Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
Lecture and practical sessions, graduate level, fall
Privacy, Self-Disclosure and Big Data
Seminar, graduate level
2022
Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
Lecture and practical sessions, graduate level, fall
Privacy, Self-Disclosure and Big Data
Seminar, graduate level
New Media Challenges
Lecture, undergraduate level, spring
2021
Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
Lecture and practical sessions, graduate level, fall
New Media Challenges
Lecture, undergraduate level, spring
Social Sciences for Society: Networks II
Lecture, undergraduate level, spring
Public Relations and Reputation Management
Lecture, undergraduate level, spring
2020
Marketing and Persuasive Communication
Lecture, undergraduate level, fall
Marketing Communication and the Consumer
Lecture and Seminar, graduate level, fall

Courses at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

2020
Statistics using SPSS
Seminar, undergraduate level
Experimental Methodology
Seminar, undergraduate level, spring
2019
Concepts and Theories of Communication Science
Seminar, undergraduate level, fall
Reading, Understanding, and Writing Scientific Texts
Seminar, undergraduate level, fall
Survey Methodology
Seminar, undergraduate level, spring

Courses at the University of Hohenheim

2018
Media Enjoyment
Seminar, graduate level, spring
2017
Advanced Statistics
Lecture, graduate level, fall
Advanced Statistics using R
Seminar, graduate level
Media Enjoyment
Seminar, graduate level, fall
2016
Advanced Statistics
Lecture, graduate level
Advanced Statistics using R
Seminar, graduate level
2015
Advanced Statistics
Lecture, graduate level
Advanced Statistics using R
Seminar, graduate level
2014
Current Topics in Media Psychology: Online Privacy
Seminar, undergraduate level, spring
2013
Content Analysis and Scale Development: Online Privacy Literacy
Seminar, undergraduate level
Current Topics in Media Psychology: Online Privacy
Seminar, undergraduate level, fall
Current Topics in Media Psychology: Addictive Media Use
Seminar, graduate level, fall

Workshops for Researchers

2024
Into the Multiverse: Specification Curve Analysis Using R
Workshop at the University of Zurich, Switzerland
Replicating the fundamentals of Communication Science (with Anita Eerland, Lisa Vandeberg, Ivar Vermeulen, Marieke Fransen)
Workshop at ESCE 2024 at the Radboud University, Nijmegen, summer
2023
Multiverse and Specification Curve Analysis in R
Workshop at the University of Zurich, Switzerland
2022
Bayesian Statistics in R
Workshop at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, fall
Data Analysis with R
Introductory R course for the Faculty of Social Sciences
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands, spring
Preregistering Research: What is it about and why is it important?
Workshop at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands, spring
2020
Fundamentals of Test Theories and Scale Development
Workshop at the University of Würzburg, Germany
2019
Data Visualization with R
Workshop at the Department of Communication, Cornell University, USA
2018
Statistical Data Analysis with R
Workshop at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany, spring
Introduction to R (with Frank M. Schneider)
Workshop at the Hochschule für Musik Theater und Medien, Hannover, Germany
2017
Increasing Privacy: Empowerment of Paternalism?
Workshop held at “New Frontiers in Social Media Research – International Summer School 2017”, Duisburg, Germany, fall
Analyzing Experience Sampling Data: Multilevel-Analysis with R
Workshop at the University of Rostock, Germany, spring
Introduction to R (with Frank M. Schneider)
Workshop at the University of Erfurt, Germany
Statistical Data Analysis with R
Workshop at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, spring

Workshops in Schools

2017
Online Data Protection (with Doris Teutsch)
2-day workshop at the Körschtalschule, Plieningen, Germany, spring