Caleb Hazelwood
Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
Ph.D. Candidate, Philosophy
BIO
Caleb Hazelwood is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Philosophy. He received a B.S. in biology and philosophy from Missouri Western State University and an M.A. in philosophy from Georgia State University. Notably, Hazelwood was honored in 2024 for the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring.
Hazelwood is recognized for his exceptional dedication to creating an inclusive and engaging learning environment. His innovative teaching methods, including the use of discussion-based classes and flipped classroom models, have significantly enhanced student participation and learning outcomes.
Hazelwood's commitment to mentorship is evident through his involvement in the Ph.D. Peer Mentoring Fellowship and his role as a teaching assistant and instructor of record for several philosophy courses. His ability to break down complex philosophical concepts and foster critical thinking has earned him high praise from both students and faculty. Hazelwood's contributions extend beyond the classroom, as he actively participates in academic conferences and collaborates on interdisciplinary research projects.
In the fall of 2025, Hazelwood will join the faculty of University of Wyoming as Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies.
ON TEACHING
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
My favorite part of teaching is seeing the interpersonal relationships among students, and the dynamic of the entire classroom in general, grow throughout the term. What often begins as a series of stilted exchanges between strangers becomes a robust, energized, stimulating, and *fun* discussion about the issues that interest us. Once students are comfortable with me and with each other, that's when the real philosophical work can begin. When they feel the classroom is a safe space for exploring, taking leaps, and making mistakes, they feel empowered to stump me with probing questions, counter my arguments with damning objections, and celebrate their newfound understanding of a theory. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing something "click" for a student, but that "click" is only possible once the right learning environment has been established and maintained.
What accomplishment are you most proud of, when reflecting on your teaching?
I am most proud of my students' success with academic conferences and journals. So far, eight of my undergraduate students have been accepted to professional conferences, and two others have published their term papers from my course in undergraduate journals. To cite my favorite example, in the spring of 2023, a student in my Philosophy of Biology course approached me with an idea for a paper: she sought to explore the metaphysical similarities between fetuses and tumors, then use those similarities to argue that our moral responsibilities to a fetus are analogous to our moral responsibilities to a tumor. The student submitted her paper (and was accepted) to the London Feminist Philosophy Conference and the Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice. Later, she wrote to me that, through the process, she had caught the “publishing/presenting research bug.”
How have you evolved as a teacher over time?
My teaching style has become less lecture-based and much more discussion-based. I am increasingly phasing out slideshow presentations in my classes and phasing in "active learning" exercises. In my classes, active learning often takes the form of asking the students to teach me. If it is important that students grasp a certain set of concepts from a reading, I will assign those concepts to randomly chosen teams. The teams are responsible for producing and presenting a mini lecture on their assigned concept (or, in the case of a recent pedagogical experiment, a playlist with liner notes explaining the connection of each song to the material). Other times, I will let the students decide which concepts are relevant, how the labor of presentation should be divided, and how to present the information. The flipped classroom model is one that I have styled after my own mentors. I find that students respond positively to the model, with one noting that it “definitely provided a more engaging experience than being lectured to.”
IN THEIR WORDS
Excerpts from Hazelwood’s nomination
"Caleb Hazelwood is well-known in the Department and among undergraduates to be a super teacher who commits to creating an inclusive atmosphere in his classroom and is able to cultivate very broad participation in discussion. He has thought a lot about how to nurture in his students both knowledge and skills that can be transferred to other settings."
"Caleb is a remarkably able and devoted teacher, as my varied experience with him attests. In my introductory philosophy class, he was probably the best teaching assistant I ever had. Caleb handled the logistics of the class perfectly, as well as discharging the normal duties of sharing in grading and meeting with individual students before assignments were due and at exam times.”