Teaching that transforms is not about memorization or fleeting insights. Aimee Zoeller, from IU Columbus, views transformation as a profound reorientation of thought. She often recalls Neil Postman’s challenge to educators: success is measured not by recitation but by the willingness of students to withhold judgment when information is incomplete, and to change their position when evidence requires it. That spirit of intellectual humility and courage forms the heart of her teaching.
Zoeller’s classes create opportunities for students to confront cultural myths and assumptions through careful inquiry. Transformation is rarely abstract in her courses. It takes place when students ground their arguments in valid data, when a community partnership alters how they see their neighbors, or when a conversation in class opens a door they had not considered before.
One of the most striking examples of this work occurred through her decade-long partnership with Arts4AIDS in Columbus. Each year, her students contributed to the city’s World AIDS Day events. In her Music and Social Movements course, they studied the role of art in the HIV and AIDS justice movement.
The experience became unforgettable when Zimbabwean musician Berita visited Columbus, worked with students, and performed for the community. For her students, the project did more than illuminate history. It made the world smaller, revealed the power of human connection, and demonstrated that social science and art can work together to shape healthier communities.
Another course, Urban Sociology in London and Paris, offered its own lessons in transformation. Students studied housing policy, met with officials, and spoke directly with those experiencing homelessness. They also visited Toynbee Hall, the first university-affiliated settlement house. By tracing the long history of urban housing policies, they discovered how practices and laws had produced lasting inequities. Many left the course with their assumptions unraveled, compelled to reconstruct their understanding of housing as a fundamental issue of justice.
Such outcomes are no accident. Zoeller carefully designs her courses to move beyond academic exercises and into lived experience. Her philosophy is rooted in the conviction that students already carry a deep awareness of the social problems their communities face. Her role is to help them co-create frameworks for study and solutions. She asks what readings or projects will matter outside the classroom, how assignments will ripple outward into the world her students inhabit. She takes inspiration from bell hooks, who insisted that learning must be both pleasurable and useful.
Accessibility also shapes her approach. Grounded in working-class studies, Zoeller avoids the trap of academic jargon. She encourages students to speak in their own voices, to test and refine their ideas in conversation, and to communicate with clarity to the communities they care about. In this way, they learn not only to think critically but also to claim authorship from their own perspective. When asked what advice she offers to other educators, she says, “begin with what is small and manageable.”
She adds, “Reflect on why you teach and resist the temptation to do this work in isolation. There are always communities on and beyond campus willing to support thoughtful teaching.”
The effects of transformation are not always easy to measure, especially in institutions that lack structured alumni outreach. Yet Zoeller sees the impact in the lives of her former students. Many remain in touch, sharing how they apply lessons from her courses to their graduate studies, professional lives, and civic engagement. Social media has become a surprising bridge, a space where alumni reflect on the way her teaching continues to shape their choices years later.
In the end, transformation is not confined to a classroom or a semester. It endures in the way students see the world and the responsibilities they assume within it. That lasting change, both personal and communal, is the truest measure of teaching that transforms.
