Teaching

Teaching Documents

Sole Instructor (Duke University)

Seoul National University

Undergraduate Courses

  • Applied Ethics (Spring 2022, 2023)
  • Intro to Ethics (Fall 2021, 2022, 2023)
  • Social Ethics (Spring 2021)

Graduate Courses

  • AI Ethics (Fall 2023)
  • Virtue Ethics (Spring 2023)
  • Moral Emotions (Anger, Shame, and Forgiveness) (Fall 2022)
  • Ethics Lecture (Lying, Deception, and Honesty) (Spring 2022)
  • Bioethics Seminar (Spring 2021)

Duke University

  • Chinese Philosophy (Summer 2019)
  • Applied and Environmental Ethics (Summer 2019)
  • Applied and Environmental Ethics (Summer 2018)
  • Introduction to Philosophy (Spring 2018)
  • Logic (Fall 2017)
  • Introduction to Philosophy (Summer 2017)
  • Logic (Spring 2017)
  • Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 2016)
  • Introduction to Philosophy (Summer 2016)

Teaching Assistant

 Duke University

  • Chinese Philosophy (for David Wong), Spring 2016
  • Introduction to Philosophy (for Alex Rosenberg), Fall 2015
  • Composing the Internship Experience: Digital Rhetoric and Social Media Discourse (for Denise Comer), Summer 2015 (Full-online course)
  • History of Ancient Philosophy (for Michael Ferejohn), Spring 2015
  • Information, Society and Culture (for Orlin Vakarelov), Fall 2014

 Yonsei University

  • Contemporary Ethics (for Hyung Chul Kim), Spring 2009
  • Applied Ethics (for Hyung Chul Kim), Fall 2008
  • Ethics (for Hyung Chul Kim), Spring 2008
  • History of Western Ethics (for Myung-shin Kang), Fall 2007

Guest Lecturer

  • “Confucianism in Korea” in Religion and Culture in Contemporary Korea (Hwansoo Kim), Duke University, Spring 2017

Tutor

  • Academic Writing Instructor (online), Edu Nobilis, Seoul, Summer 2017
  • Writing Tutor, Thomson Writing Program at Duke University, Fall 2014-Spring 2015
  • XXII World Congress of Philosophy Seminar, Intro to Philosophy, Spring 2008
  • Eagle Tutoring Program, Yonsei University (History of Ethics, Fall 2007; Kant, Spring 2005)

Training for Teaching

  • The American Association of Philosophy Teacher (AAPT)’s  Workshop on Teaching and Learning in Philosophy
  • A workshop for improving the quality of instruction in philosophy at all levels. Participants read the literature regarding how learning happens, how to design maximally effective courses, and how to improve classroom practice.
  • Helping Students Write Well-Structured Papers (Cary Maskovitz)        Participants in this workshop learn (and practice) approaches to helping students review and revise their writing to improve organization and make it easier for readers to see the logical relationships between the parts of their papers.
  • Certificate for College Teaching (CCT; all requirement fulfilled): A systematic pedagogical training that helping you to develop as a teacher, but also allows you to use your time more efficiently as you balance your research and teaching responsibilities.
  • Triangle University Internship Program at National Humanities Center (2018): A six-week pedagogical training program for PhD students in the humanities.
  • Teaching Triangles Program (2016): This program is part of the Certificate in College Teaching. It is a peer-observation program for graduate student instructors and TAs at Duke.
  • The Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) Showcase (2016): A conference for improving instructional technology.
  • CIT Workshop, Improve Your Course with Mid-Semester Feedback (2016): Learned how to gather actionable feedback from students at mid-semester.
  • Teaching Philosophy Seminar (2016): Biweekly seminars teaching how to give a lecture, improve PowerPoint, be sensitive to the diversity of the students, give constructive feedback, etc.

Comments from Students (complete comments available upon request)

  • “Ideal. Learned lots, no needless assignments. Sungwoo was a brilliant and nice instructor, it’s thanks to him.”
  • “Definitely take it.”
  • “And the professor is great! Overall A++++++++!!”
  • “As someone who is very interested in the prospect of teaching, Sungwoo is a perfect example of how to do it right. His love for learning is infectious and he has a way of so charmingly expressing it in others. To focus on the work and the knowledge as opposed to getting a good grade is a philosophy that actually increased my mastery and achievement in his class. Cares about his students so much and he is only a grad student. So many professors who have phds and are tenured could learn a great deal from Sungwoo. I certainly hope to have him again in my upcoming years at Duke as well as to have the pleasure to be taught by someone as caring and charismatic as he. Great job Sungwoo!”
  • “It was great having an instructor and not a sadist for once. Really made it possible to learn without suffering. I learned the most under his instruction.”
  • “Professor Um really seemed to care about the engagement levels in class and was very attentive to arraigning a time for us to discuss problems I was having with a paper.”
  • “I love the professor a lot, he used video, conversation and powerpoint to explain the things that was hard to understand. And he support us in asking questions after class.”
  • “I really like the professor and the way he taught the course, especially with our discussions. It felt like a very free learning environment. His mentality with teaching the course was better than any other teacher that i’ve had as we could be taking notes one moment and then deep in a discussion the next- with the transition effectively instigated by the professor.”
  • “The instructor was great. His open-discussion teaching style and his great passion towards teaching philosophy has made him one of the best teachers I’ve ever encountered.”
  • “Everything was essential. There was no wasted lesson or anything that could be neglected; however, I wasn’t once worried about my grade because Sungwoo made it clear that he was only concerned with us genuinely learning the content. Sharing that sole concern, the grade came naturally.”
  • “Absolutely fantastic experience, nearly flawless in its execution. It is a class where you actually learn the content and become a logician, rather than just getting a letter grade.”
  • “The professor, Sungwoo Um, is incredibly dedicated, helpful, and kind. He wants the best for students and is more than willing to help discuss ideas even outside of class time in order to help us grasp a better understanding. Everyone had many chances to contribute to discussion in class. You can definitely tell that he cares a lot about our success and the subject in general. Taking this course has helped me improve my logic and broaden my views which can be applied to many other areas as well. I would highly recommend :)!”