Teaching

Pedagogy

My teaching philosophy is anchored in five core values: community, knowledge, reflexivity, creativity, and fun. These principles guide my lesson planning, student engagement, and assessment methods. I strive to create a productive learning environment that is welcoming and open, in which my students feel a rapport and sense of community with their peers. I encourage a brave space for idea exchange through mixed-mode discussions that promote critical thinking and reflective participation. Even complex or serious topics are approached with an element of joy in my classroom.

Like my research, my teaching approach is interdisciplinary, incorporating theories and concepts from sociology, history, performance studies, and political economy, as well as embodied learning methods and creative inspiration from the arts and daily life. My teaching has been highly praised by students and colleagues alike, with student feedback highlighting the fun, engaging, and safe atmosphere of my classes. I am also mindful of the various learning styles present in any classroom and use my graphic design skills to create compelling visual aids for my lessons.

I am dedicated to the continuous decolonisation of my teaching methods and knowledge dissemination. In my classes I encourage students to look to embodied and/or oral histories, cultural knowledge, and embodied modes of learning as rich sources of knowledge and ideas. I hold truth-telling as essential to a brave and critically-engaged classroom environment, and I am passionate about decentring the place of written knowledge and colonial histories in the curriculum.

Teaching assets for lecture, ‘Money’, presented to NIDA second year Contexts in Performance students , 2024.

Experience

I have taught a range of tertiary undergraduate courses in university and conservatoire environments. I have taught online-only zoom classes (with remote students attending from continents and time zones all over the world), interactive seminars, practical workshops, and traditional university tutorials. In 2021 I adapted the first-year Theatre and Performance Studies core unit, Making Theatre: The Work of the Director, to an online format to exceptional student feedback (reflected in the comments below).

I've guided students in creating performances, honing presentation skills, understanding research methodologies—including practice-based research—and developing writing skills in various formats, while also conducting thorough assessments in these domains. In addition, I have examined a number of Masters’ projects across several courses at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) and mentored postgraduate students’ research projects in NIDA’s Masters of Cultural Leadership program.

Since 2024, I have been fortunate to teach into the new ‘First Nations first’ curriculum for the second year ‘Contexts in Performance’ unit at NIDA. Guided by the NIDA First Nations team, in this course I have taught students about Indigenous modes of storytelling in contemporary performance through a case study of Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Bennelong.

Expertise

In addition to my research areas, my teaching expertise includes:

  • Theatre, performance, and avant-garde art history (late 19th-21st century)

  • Social and critical theory, in particular regarding class, gender, feminism, and critical race studies

  • Embodiment and phenomenology

  • Practice-based research methods, particularly group devised performance-making

  • Performance analysis

Student feedback

  • "Izabella was an incredibly supportive tutor, who made a great effort to ensure everyone in the class felt known and included. Her tutorials were always engaging and interesting, with a good mix of theoretical and practical elements. She strengthened my engagement with the course immensely."

  • "[Bella] went out of her way to teach us about essay writing which was amazing. So helpful. She also put in so much effort into her Acknowledgments of Country which was very inspiring and always made me reflect each week."

  • "Bella made each tutorial engaging, welcoming and fun whilst challenging us to thinking critically and helped us to deepen our ideas. Every week, she made an effort to encourage input from every student over Zoom."

  • "Bella tailored her teaching to the majority of us that had just graduated high school, relating to our experiences as a class and staying up to date with popular culture as a means of relating to everyone with a common ground."

  • "Bella was always EXTREMELY helpful when providing feedback. I always knew what I had to do to do well and how I could improve, and this reflected in my marks."

  • "I found Izabella's engagement with university skills very helpful. It was really valuable as a first year student to have a tutor map out the expectations for essay writing in a way that was direct and specific."

  • "Bella brought terrific energy to every tutorial and made me feel safe and comfortable in class. Every tutorial was entertaining and interesting as I could tell Bella was incredibly interested herself."

  • "Bella made an effort to get to know each student individually, and demonstrated an understanding of their needs through always offering further explanations and engaging in the breakout rooms."

  • "During class discussions, I felt comfortable contributing my ideas and thoughts on the subject. Bella made me feel seen, heard and took on my contributions really well."

  • "Bella made it so important to promote a good learning environment and helped to create an amazing class morale. I found it very easy to talk to anyone in this class about the subject material."

  • "I have never felt more excited to learn in a university class before. Bella created such a safe space and an enjoyable environment to learn about our material."

  • "Bella was a wonderful tutor, my favourite that I've had so far. I looked forward to every tutorial and feel as though I've learnt and felt the most supported in her tutorial. She is very well-versed in the course content and has wonderful teaching skills."

  • "Bella provided me with a safe learning environment where I could explore my understanding of the course and communicate my thoughts with others."

  • "Bella is amazing. She was always so helpful with the content of the course and always helped me to understand the material, but what was the best was the way in which she created a space of equality amongst students and a space in which we were able to explore the material in an energetic, excited and inspired way. I'm a fan of Bella."

  • "[Bella is] a great tutor who helped us not only in theory but also gave us some tips in writing essays. she also gave us motivation and help when we were struggling. it would have been great for a more effective method of peer assessment in assignments but the tutor also communicated about having to navigate that problem."

  • "[Bella] supported my learning extensively. She has made me want to continue down the path of theatre and performance studies and is one of the best teachers I have had at this university."

  • "I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for all you have done this semester! You truly have made my Monday mornings something to look forward to - I have had lots of fun in this class!"

  • "Your honesty and care for the importance of discussing issues within Australian culture really deepened my understanding and helped me feel more prepared for when I eventually move to Sydney! Thank you for making my first semester at USyd so engaging and fun even from hundreds of miles away!"