Teaching

“One of the best professors I’ve had in my four years at OSU. Jon clearly cared about students and their learning. He made it a very welcoming classroom even when some made radical comments. I am not even interested in political science and you made it where there was always an engaging lesson.”
Intro to US Government

“The class was very great and very interesting. Professor made the course even better with his way of teaching. I liked doing class activities because it helped me apply the concepts and get out of the comfort zone to work with others.”
State & Local Government

“Professor Ruff was not only accommodating, but also kept me engaged when I felt like giving up. Most importantly, he never made me feel like I was getting a pity grade and always offered constructive feedback. Given the online nature of this class, I felt a meaningful connection with the professor, which made the content all the more accessible.”
Science & Politics

Undergraduate Courses

Introduction to US Government

PS 201: E-Campus & On-Campus

Description and analysis of American politics and government, including interest groups, political parties, elections, media, the presidency, Congress, the Constitution, and the courts.

State & Local Government

PS 331: E-Campus & On-Campus

Role, organization, and functions of government at the state and local level. Satisfies teaching certification requirement for course work in state and local government.

Science & Politics

PS 476: E-Campus & On Campus

Analyzing the relationships between science and the political system in political ideas and history, in bureaucratic politics of science policy, and in contemporary scientific disputes.

Introduction to International Relations

PS 205: E-Campus

A course emphasizing analysis of the international system and the factors affecting world politics.

Public Policy Problems

PS 371: E-Campus

The policies and politics of adoption and application of such policy areas as defense, poverty and welfare, economics, and regulation.

The Politics of Climate Change

PS 455: E-Campus

Domestic and international political aspects of global climate change. Examines global climate change through philosophical, economic, and science policy contexts.

Graduate Courses

Teaching Philosophy

Learning about public policy and its processes is a critical task in our age of multi-modal learning, artificial intelligence, and exclusionary partisanship. As students find new voices, research, and perspectives online, they may struggle to find clarity and meaning in the cacophony of value-laden options that are presented. Learning, then, is one crucial process to help us all (as members of the public) synthesize the knowledge we have about the way the world works with other legitimized perspectives about that world. I believe students enter the classroom with experiential knowledge of how the world works; my teaching philosophy emphasizes honing students’ abilities in the context of their knowledge about the world while learning new ways to communicate about complex systems with others who may not share that same experience or belief. My goal is to improve student capacity for underlying principles of gaining knowledge: how to think about ‘how to think about things.’

I most enjoy teaching courses in science & technology policy, state and local governance, US government, public policy processes, public administration theory, and undergraduate research methods. I find that student learning in these courses requires two components: (1) learning the language that experts use to communicate about the policy issues; (2) learning about the policy process and the interactions between the citizens, representative structures, and administrative institutions. Students come into the classroom with (at least some) knowledge of both elements, but it is, at first, limited and non-diverse. When teaching, I focus on finding ways for students to explore beyond what they have heard expressed by others and build their curiosity for issues, even if those issues have not made it to the news, TikTok, or dinner table conversations. I begin courses by identifying three goals for student learning: (1) leave class with increased engagement in policy; (2) obtain new knowledge and language to discuss a public issue relevant to you; (3) develop confidence in discussing that public issue with depth and clarity.

My teaching methods in the service of those goals have grown through my experience teaching undergraduate Political Science and Public Policy courses (online & on-campus) at Oregon State University. With experience, I have learned to engage students in new ways, supplementing lectures with planned in-class activities, discussions, collaboration, practical examples, guest speakers, and immersive multi-modal technology. I have also learned to communicate my own values early each term – describing to students my background and why I may focus on some issues more than others in my teaching. For example, as a Montanan, policy issues American Indian and tribal governance systems are relevant and exemplary of many local/state/federal policy history and contemporary actions; I include content on the interactions between tribal government and state governance issues in every course. This approach opens me up to student interests as well, and I am often guided by students to teach about policy issues that they are interested in, but I had not yet explored. Yet, I most value those experiences [even if they cost me a few extra hours in preparation] because they improve student engagement in the knowledge, as well as my own.

As I have grown as an instructor, I have renewed my attention to grading practices, exploring what is most valuable to students in the context of core academic practices. I am most interested in students gaining the confidence and context to engage well with others on the topic of governance. Student assessment in my classrooms typically surrounds writing, research, argument, and participation, with grading standards reflecting individual effort, collaboration, and growth-over-time. I am proud of the commitment I have made to provide robust feedback on student writing and arguments, and students often reflect positively on the strides they make in their capabilities by end of term. Above all, I believe student diversity demands inclusive teaching practices. I aim to meet the needs of students online and in-person, through variations in approach that match the course content and emphasize student capacity to learn.