Student Testimonials 

Below are comments provided by students at Carroll University and Graceland University. Each quote was provided by a different student in a written testimonial about their experience in my class.

Bioethics
“I would strongly recommend future students to enroll in this course. As someone with little to no philosophical background, I was worried I would struggle as student in PHI194. With time, myself and many of my peers were impressed by her ability to make difficult concepts and ideas seemingly simple and understandable. Due to this, I was able to succeed. Dr. Seemuth Whaley is not only an effective professor in teaching the class material, but she goes above and beyond to make the material translatable to students’ own lives and careers.”

Social Dimensions of Equality

“Dr. Seemuth Whaley did an excellent job instructing Social Dimensions of Equality. She is a professor who cares about teaching and is eager to help any student develop an understanding and appreciation for philosophy. She manages class well and fits an abundance of meaningful information into a single semester while making it not overwhelming.”

Philosophy of Death and Dying

“The title of the class kind of scared me at first, and I didn't know what to expect. I had also never taken a philosophy class before so I wasn't really sure what it was and how to prepare. The way Kristin taught the class made it so easy to grasp what philosophy is all about and actually understand and enjoy it. The topics we discussed will be extremely beneficial to me in nursing and I would suggest that every medical field major take it. It was very easy to keep up with work and stay organized with her format and schedule for every class. I never felt behind or that I didn't understand something, which can easily happen with philosophy.”

Environmental Ethics
“Dr. Seemuth Whaley has directly influenced my life outside of class by showing me the importance of being able to evaluate your viewpoints and actions to determine whether they contradict each other or even make sense in the first place. This exploration of my personal values continued outside of class as well, as I continued to evaluate lifestyle choices that I make in an effort to make them more in line with my values and commitments.” 

“I learned so much about the relationship between humans and the environment and our responsibilities concerning the environment. I frequently found the terminology and topics of class discussion on the back of my mind and at the tip of my tongue. I am an accounting and business administration major who, frankly, was way more interested in this class than any of my other courses.”

Awards

Nominee: Alumni Excellence in Teaching Award

In Spring 2021, my students nominated me for the Alumni Excellence in Teaching Award at Graceland University, an annual award that recognizes one faculty member campus-wide. I was one of three finalists.

AAPT Grant for Innovations in Teaching
In 2018, I was awarded an American Association of Philosophy Teachers Grant for Innovations in Teaching. With this funding, I investigated the value of using alternative assessments, like group poster presentations, in intro-level Philosophy courses. I presented my findings at the 2021 AAPT Summer Series.

The Distinguished Graduate Student Teaching Award (at UIUC)

 I received the Distinguished Graduate Student Teaching Award for the 2015-2016 academic year at the University of Illinois. The award "is bestowed on the department's best graduate student instructor. The recipient is determined based upon standard student evaluations, faculty observations, and any other evidence that a graduate student has exceeded normal expectations in terms of effort and innovation.''  I received this award based on my pursuit of teaching certifications, my development of pedagogy workshops for graduate students in the Philosophy department, teaching at the university-wide TA orientation, faculty teaching observations, student testimonials, and course evaluation scores. 

Courses