Dr. James Holly Jr. has taught "Mkufuu" (Engineering Design) in Swahili at both the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. This unique course offering demonstrates Dr. Holly's commitment to innovative and inclusive engineering education, bringing linguistic diversity into the engineering curriculum. By teaching engineering concepts in Swahili, Dr. Holly not only expands the accessibility of engineering education but also celebrates cultural diversity within the field.
Teaching
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
ME 499/599 – Mechanical Engineering & Racial Justice (Winter 2022, 2023)
This lecture course helps students consider the historical and contemporary context of mechanical engineering in regard to racial injustice, namely, the impacts of designed systems, processes, and products that shape our human relations. This course is intended to enhance the professional formation of mechanical engineers by accentuating the social knowledge for doing engineering to advance justice.
ME 211 – Introduction to Solid Mechanics (Fall 2021, 2023, 2024)
This lecture course is designed to familiarize students with the core aspects of solid mechanics, which is the study of the deformation and motion of solid materials under the action of forces. This subject matter is one of the fundamental applied engineering sciences, in the sense that it is used to describe, explain, and predict many of the physical phenomena around us.
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
MAE 1000 – Detroit by the Numbers (Winter 2021)
This lecture course is designed to build the efficacy of students by helping them experience mathematics as doable, meaningful, and relevant to our lives. Students practice analyzing data and quantitative reasoning through using the city of Detroit as a sociocultural context to address problems presented by guest speakers that are residents and professionals.
TED 6140 – Local School Curriculum Planning (Fall 2020)
As the first professor to teach this course (previously on the books but not taught), I created a new syllabus and introduced STEM teacher candidates to curriculum development. This course involved a historical, sociological, philosophical, and psychological examination of school curriculum, theories, trends and curriculum structure.
ELE 6500 – Science Curriculum: Pre-primary – 8 (Fall 2019, Winter 2020)
This lecture course prepares pre-service teachers to select existing, and/or develop original, inquiry-based constructivist teaching models that promote student concept understanding and process skill development, as directed by our national and state science education standards. Future teachers develop lesson plans that incorporate the use of technology, multicultural and exceptional learner considerations, authentic assessments, and the integration of subjects across the
curriculum.
Mkufuu (Swahili for Teaching Philosophy)
My approach to teaching employs an ethic of care and reflective practice, while emphasizing collaboration and cognitive engagement to deepen student’s understanding of foundational mechanical engineering concepts. My instructional practice involves re-situating the sociotechnical nature of the discipline as essential to engineering knowledge, and attempting to bridge the gap between theoretical concepts and practical applications. Like my undergraduate professors, I aspire for students to understand that the habits of mind refined in engineering study are useful in all areas of life, but more importantly engineering processes and products have far reaching social implications. Therefore, I forgo reinforcing ambiguous notions of hard work by accentuating the importance of hard thinking, fostering critical consciousness to perceive the ramifications of our solutions in terms of justice, equity, and human enrichment. I avoid positioning myself as the sole expert in the classroom, eschewing the banking model of education, to enact equitable educational experiences. As the facilitator of the learning experience my approach is constructivist, students bring their understanding and experiences to the classroom and co-construct deeper understandings of the content and its applications.
My classroom instructional strategies are embedded with interactive lessons, which develop independence and interdependence as I work to cultivate lifelong learners. I enjoy teaching and I understand that all students do not grasp information at the same pace so I create opportunities for revisiting information, along with opportunities to augment class instruction through providing support during office hours and being aware of the support services available on campus. In discerning the difference between remediation and appropriate enrichment, I utilize the strengths students possess to guide them in achieving academic success. My doctoral studies introduced me to theories about learning in conjunction with historical accounts and philosophical underpinnings of the engineering profession; these experiences established a foundation for how I engage the social, political, cultural, and psychological development of engineering learners.