Introduction to Quantitative Methods
This repository holds the scripts for a semester-long course that introduces students to quantitative methods for political science. This course is for students with minimal experience with statistics and who have yet to gain experience with coding. The course is written in R and uses RMarkdown notebooks to take students from basic tasks like importing and summarizing data through multiple regression with interaction effects. Many scripts utilize simulations to teach intuition behind statistical concepts while demonstrating what is possible with computational methods. Throughout the course, students will learn to visualize data and results with ggplot2. This course is geared toward first semster PhD students but can be adapted for advanced undergraduates and masters students. This was developed as part of the lab curriculum I taught when serving as teaching assistant for Quantitative Methods I with Hans Noel.
Teaching Experience
Quantitative Methods III (Causal Inference), PhD, Spring 2023, Georgetown University, with Marko Klašnja
Quantitative Methods I (Intro), PhD, Fall 2022, Georgetown University, with Hans Noel
Introduction to the United States Political System, undergraduate, 2021-2022, Georgetown University, with Mark Rom
Free Expression and the First Amendment, undergraduate, 2019-20, Middle Tennessee State University, with Jason Reineke
American Media and Social Institutions, undergraduate, Spring 2019, Middle Tennessee State University,with Leon Alligood
Media Law, undergraduate, Fall 2018, Middle Tennessee State University, with Paul McAdoo
Teaching Testimonials
“Ben was incredibly generous with the time he carved out for his students and the help and guidance he offered us. Beyond being available for office hours on a weekly basis, he was accessible throughout the week. He explains tricky concepts with great clarity and practical applications, and also complements material taught in the classroom by showing us applications of concepts in R. Additionally, Ben made clear from an early point in the semester that he is available for his students as a resource, and provided students with guidance about the doctoral program and the political science discipline more broadly.”
“Ben explained all the concepts in the course really well, even after I had repeated asked and also beyond his office hours. Ben is very accessible and a great teacher. He has modified explanations for concepts in ways I that adhered to my method of understanding.”
“Ben demonstrated principles of equity and inclusion very well. He makes space for all of his students and also consistently demonstrated a willingness to meet students where they are at, meaning that he tailored his teaching and mentoring style to the unique learning and personal needs of students regardless of the level of skill or familiarity they had.”
“Ben was incredible! His discussion section was always interesting yet informative. His knowledge on the research paper was especially helpful and he was available to meet when I had questions about it.”
“Ben always validated differing opinions and supported all students equally.”