Denise Waszkowski's enthusiasm and love for teaching began in grad school where she taught technical writing to undergraduate seniors. Foreign language classroom discourse was her primary research interest. In 2000, after completing a master of arts in linguistics, she taught and developed material on survival English for newly arrived refugees and struggling immigrants largely from Somalia, Sudan, Mexico, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In 2004, she moved on to teaching basic academic English skills to those immigrants who aimed to go further in their education. During the same period, she taught college composition, research, and humanities to local college and university students. Between 2004 and 2008, she also helped assess analytical writing placement exams for the university system of California. The desire for teaching in an English-foreign-language environment with its inherent challenges compelled her to teach in Egypt where she developed interests in student motivation, feedback and assessment. To this end, Waszkowski's belief in positive youth development, student well-being, motivation, and the overall college experience continue to propel her towards new areas of study and research. Waszkowski continues to study and research in these areas and has given professional workshops on teacher feedback and motivation.

Education

MA 2000, Linguistics, San Diego State University
BA 1995, Humanities, San Diego State University