I am genuinely passionate about teaching. Over the last seven years, I have been continuously teaching courses on political methodology, comparative politics, and comparative public policy in my role as a Course Instructor, Guest Lecturer, and/or Teaching Assistant (TA). I encourage you to see the attached documents here for numeric summaries of my teaching evaluations, including the narrative comments made by my students. Further details about my teaching evolutions are available here. I have taught undergraduate, master’s and PhD-level courses at the University of Toronto, St. George, and undergraduate-level courses at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, and the University of Toronto, Scarborough. I also served as a teaching assistant at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Summer Program 2021 in Quantitative Methods at the University of Michigan, USA. From 2016 to 2017, I served as a TA and Quantitative Methods Advisor for two Master of Public Policy level statistics courses at the Hertie School (The University of Governance in Berlin), Germany. Through the years, I have completed a sequence of comprehensive pedagogical trainings to continue my growth as a teacher and received outstanding teaching evaluations from both undergraduate and graduate classes. On this page, you will find detailed information on my teaching (e.g., pedagogical training, courses taught as a Course Instructor, Guest Lecturer, and TA), along with brief course evaluations.

 

Teaching Experience

course instructor

 

POL242Y5Y: Methods (University of Toronto, Mississauga)

• Summer 2022 (On-campus/in-person) Evaluation: 4.3/5.0 (Dept. average: 4.1/5.0 & Division average: 4.2/5.0) Syllabus
• Summer 2021 (Online-synchronous) Evaluation: 4.5/5.0 (Dept. average: 4.3/5.0 & Division average: 4.1/5.0) Syllabus
• Summer 2020 (Online-synchronous) Evaluation: 4.4/5.0 (Dept. average: 4.2/5.0 & Division average: 3.9/5.0) Syllabus
• Summer 2019 (On-campus/in-person) Evaluation: 4.7/5.0 (Dept. average: 4.5/5.0 & Division average: 4.0/5.0) Syllabus
• Student population: Undergraduate

• Course Description and Objectives: This course offers an introduction to political science research methods. The full-year undergraduate course covers basic approaches to political science, the choices that researchers need to make when designing their research and basic methods of analysis for both qualitative and quantitative data. It covers a wider range of topics including validity and reliability, levels of measurement, questionnaire design, experiments, elite interviews, participant observation, policy evaluation and multivariate regression analysis. By the end of the semester, students are expected to have a better acquaintance with quantitative and qualitative data and methods that are employed in political science and policy research. Students are also expected to be able to comprehend and critique the techniques employed by others. The course does not assume any prior knowledge of statistics and will make every effort to address concepts both quantitatively and theoretically. The course employs most important quantitative concepts through hands-on application using R/RStudio. The objectives of this course are not only to produce informed consumers of quantitative and qualitative research but to provide the required software skills for students to conduct their own empirical research independently with minimum guidance.

• Brief Overview of Course Topics:

Session 1: Motivation and Overview: Studying Politics Scientifically
Session 2: Theories, Concepts, Variables and Level of Measurements
Session 3: Research Design and Hypothesis
Session 4: The Fundamentals of Research Design for an Experimental Study
Session 5: The Fundamentals of Research Design for an Observational Study
Session 6: The Fundamentals of Research Design for a Case Study: Small n Versus Large N
Session 7: The Fundamentals of Research Design for a Textual Study
Session 8: Data Collection Methods: Surveys, Experiments, Interviews and More
Session 9: Sampling: Random (Representative) Versus Selective (bias) Sampling
Session 10: Descriptive Statistics: Visualization and Interpretation
Session 11: Controlled Comparisons and Cross-tabulation
Session 12: Probability 1: Statistical Inference
Session 13: Probability 2: The t-distribution, Confidence Intervals and Sample Proportions
Session 14: Bivariate (Two-Variable) Regression Analysis I
Session 15: Bivariate (Two-Variable) Regression Analysis II
Session 16: Multiple Regression Analysis I
Session 17: Multiple Regression Analysis II
Session 18: Multiple Regression Analysis III: Model Specification and Practical Problems
Session 19: Interactions
Session 20: Interactions with Dummy Variables
Session 21: Regression Diagnostics: Multi-collinearity, Heteroskedasticity, & Correlated Disturbances
Session 22: Binary Logistic Regression: Concepts & Terminology
Session 23: Research Ethics
Session 24: Overview and Review

 

SELECT COURSE EvaluationS

 

“It was an absolute pleasure to take this course with Professor Mujahed. He was incredibly kind and understanding to all his students, demonstrated enormous patience, and genuinely showed passion for the course material. He gave us the opportunity to work in breakout rooms, he encouraged us to study with one another to increase our likelihood of succeeding, and he was always very diligent. I was hardly ever confused in his class because he took the time to make sure every single student understood the course material. His lectures added a lot of value to the course.”

“The class was organized, very intellectually stimulating, and the assignments really helped with understanding the material better. This is not usually the case, but for this class, from start to finish it was executed very well.”

“This course, thought by a professor that is very much in love with the subject of statistics, is one of the best, informative, and especially pragmatic courses offered at UTM, and I personally believe that it could not of been taught better with a professor like Mujahedul.”

“Mujahedul Islam is a very attentive, focused and caring teacher that knows how to set a good learning atmosphere for his students and make them succeed. He is very motivational and allows everyone the chance to succeed in the class.”

“Mujahedul Islam has done the impossible and has made statistics and quantitative method and analysis understandable to someone whom has no background in math whatsoever.”

“[Md Mujahedul Islam] is very kind and helpful and resourceful, he always adds extra time if someone needs it and does not mind taking the time to explain something again, he’s also always smiling and cheerful which adds to the vibe of the classroom. I feel that this course does a magnificent job in applying what we learnt and making sure that everything we learnt, we are now applying to tests and assignments”

“The course material is extremely difficult but, Professor Islam was approachable, understanding and willing to provide extra assistance when needed. One of the best Political Science professors i’ve had.”

“[Md Mujahedul Islam] is very patient, nice and very helpful. His course materials would relate to everyday contexts which is helpful to many students. Also, the professor is so patient and helpful. He would help you until you fully understand the concepts and assignments!”

 

teaching assistant

Undergraduate level (Substantive courses)

 

POL242Y5Y: The Real World of Politics ( University of Toronto,  st. george)

• Fall 2020 (Online – synchronous)
• Student population: Undergraduate

• Course Description and Objectives: Welcome to POL 101, The Real World of Politics! This course examines politics through the major themes, issues, and questions that have defined the 21st Century. Students will engage the concepts and debates that anchor the field of political science through lectures and discussions that directly address contemporary political problems and issues such as climate change, coronavirus, elections and electoral systems, liberalism, race and racism, terrorism, democracy, social movements, political participation, and empire. Students will also learn important academic skills in this course, including how to take notes, how to read and think critically, and how to write. This is a terrific course to take in first year because our TAs are specially trained to teach writing, and the course assignments are also designed to teach critical thinking and writing.

 

POL 114H5S: Politics in the Global World (University of Toronto, Mississauga)

• Winter 2020 (On-campus/in-person)
• Student population: Undergraduate

• Course Description and Objectives: The term “globalization” generally refers to an increased level of interconnectedness that spans state borders. This issue-driven introductory course will examine the ways in which globalization has altered our conception of politics. It will assess the ability of states – the basic political units in the international system – to address the needs of their citizens, and to conduct relations with other states. It will also explore the rise of non-state political forces, such as social and environmental movements, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) terrorists, and philanthropists, and the challenges posed by these actors to a state-based system. We will examine pressing issues such as human rights, extremism, environmental and economic inequality from a global perspective, and ask whether global cooperation is possible to address them. This course will enhance your knowledge of current and pressing global political issues, and help you to comprehend them through the lenses of competing theories and approaches. While the course prepares you for further study within the field of political science, you will also be able to apply the knowledge and critical analytical skills you develop in this course to better understand world events, and to inform your own political behaviour and decision-making.

 

PPGC66H3: Public policy making (University of Toronto,  Scarborough)

• Winter 2020 (On-campus/in-person)
• Student population: Undergraduate

• Course Description and Objectives: PPGC66 is an introduction to the concepts, theories, and analytical tools used by social scientists to understand policy making. Topics covered include utility theory, social choice, institutions, data and evidence interpretation, policy analysis, basic game theory, and the policy process. Throughout the course, students will apply the knowledge and skills they have learned to explain real-world policy making. PPGC66consists of eleven two hour lectures, eight mandatory one hour tutorials, two optional review sessions, a two-part research essay, and two ninety minute closed-book examinations. Students are encouraged to comment on the material and ask questions during lectures. In tutorials, students will complete exercises designed to hone their analytical skills. Tutorials also provide an opportunity to discuss the material with fellow students and course instructor.

 

PPGC66H3F: PUBLIC POLICY MAKING: DOMESTIC, INTERNATIONAL & TRANSNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES (University of Toronto,  Scarborough)

• Winter 2018 (On-campus/in-person)
• Student population: Undergraduate

• Course Description and Objectives: This course introduces the main currents of political science. It does so by engaging four key themes: democracy, dictatorship, war, and peace. The first part of the course defines democracy and dictatorship. Under what conditions to these different kinds of governments appear? And what implications do different regime types bear on politics? The second part of the course turns to questions of war and peace. Why do some countries and communities live in peace, whereas others turn to war? In part three, we will explore the causes and consequences of international inequality. Why do some countries prosper and others stagnate? What are the political consequences of these disparities both across and within societies? The reading load for this course is not heavy but some of it will be written in a style that is not familiar. The readings are not a substitute for attending lectures and tutorials. Some lectures will cover the reading material, but most will use it as a point of departure for a deeper consideration of the topic in question. It is best if you do the readings in advance of the lecture topic and tutorial discussion. Tutorial attendance is mandatory and a portion of your final grade will reflect your participation in tutorials, as well as in a few other events organized by the Department of Political Science.

 

POL101: Democracy, dictatorship, war, and peace  ( University of Toronto,  st. george)

• Fall/Winter 2017/18 (On-campus/in-person)
• Student population: Undergraduate

• Course Description and Objectives: This course provides an introduction to the process of public policy making. The course will address the nature and context of public policy making and the influence of key actors and institutions. We will review several approaches to policy making and will focus on the various stages of the policy process (agenda setting, decision making, implementation, and evaluation), policy durability and change, policy attention to improving students’ analytical and writing skills. By the end of this course, students will be able to compare and contrast a diverse set of concepts and theories for analyzing the stages of the policy making process. You will be able to apply these concepts and theories to domestic, international and transnational policy issues and processes. You will be able to assess the validity of empirical applications of these theories and provide constructive critiques. Finally, you will be able to apply the concepts and theories to current events. In order to achieve these objectives, students should attend and participate in lectures and tutorials, complete all the required readings before class, and allow sufficient time to prepare for and complete assignments and exams.

 

teaching assistant

Undergraduate level (Methods courses)

 

POLC78: Political Analysis I (University of Toronto,  Scarborough)

• Fall 2020 (Asynchronous on-line course)
• Student population: Undergraduate

• Course Description and Objectives: This course examines the principles of research design and a variety of methods of analysis often employed by researchers in political science. This course is divided into three sections: research design and principles, qualitative research and quantitative research. We will examine how research builds on existing research, the process of causal inference, interview techniques, how cases or observations are selected, and how surveys are conducted. While learning about these methodological tools, we will engage some of the “big questions” of political science like the impact of institutions, history and culture on political outcomes, gender and cross-national differences in participation, and notions of fairness and equity. By learning to distinguish between adequate and inadequate use of evidence and between warranted and unwarranted conclusions, this course should help you think more critically about arguments and data presented in academic and non-academic coverage of politics and policy issues. At the end of this course, I expect all students to:
• Become an informed reader of political scholarship.
• Differentiate between scientific approaches to social science and the study of politics more specifically, and non-scientific approaches.
• Learn to critically evaluate arguments found in academic and non-academic texts.
• Complete an original work of qualitative research.

 

POL232H1S: Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning II (University of Toronto,  St. george)

• Winter 2019 (On-campus/in-person)
• Student population: Undergraduate

• Course Description and Objectives: Quantitative empirical analysis has become increasingly an important part of political science research — and social sciences in general — and public policy debates. The results of statistical analysis on quantitative data, such as opinion polls, election results, frequency of armed conflicts, and incidence of violence, can be seen in many research articles and books on political science and various reports on divergent policy issues published by governments, think tanks, non-profit organizations, and news media. Ability to properly understand and critically assess the results of quantitative statistical analysis has become an invaluable asset for any individuals who are interested in a wide range of political, economic, social, and policy issues. For political science students, two consecutive introductory courses on quantitative empirical methodology are offered (POL222 & 232). This course, “POL232 Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning II,” is the second course and continues to introduce important foundations of quantitative empirical methodology. POL232 is required for political science specialists and elective for majors. Students taking this course will learn:

1. Theoretical foundations of statistical inference to learn about the characteristics and relationships in a large population from sample observations;
2. Linear regression analysis, which is one of the most basic yet widely used methods to empirically investigate the relationship between political, economic, social and policy phenomena; and
3. Very basics of statistical computing to conduct simple quantitative analyses of social science data.

 

POL222H1S: Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning I (University of Toronto,  st. george)

• Fall 2017 (On-campus/in-person)
• Student population: Undergraduate

• Course Description and Objectives: Quantitative empirical analysis has become increasingly an important part of political science research — and social sciences in general — and public policy debates. The results of statistical analysis on quantitative data, such as opinion polls, election results, frequency of armed conflicts, and incidence of violence, can be seen in many research articles and books on political science and various reports on divergent policy issues published by governments, think tanks, non-profit organizations, and news media. Ability to properly understand and critically assess the results of quantitative statistical analysis has become an invaluable asset for any individuals who are interested in a wide range of political, economic, social, and policy issues. For political science majors, two consecutive introductory courses on quantitative empirical methodology are offered (POL222 & 232). This course, “POL222 Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning I,” is the first of the sequence and required for all political science majors. By the end of this course, students are expected to have developed a basic understanding of:

1. The characteristics of the scientific studies of political science, especially those employing quantitative empirical analysis, and the inherent difficulties of establishing a causal relationship empirically between the political, economic, social and policy phenomena of interest;
2. Representative empirical research designs, both in experimental and non-experimental (observational) varieties, to investigate the causal relationship of political, economic, social and policy phenomena of interest, and various threats to the validity of different research designs; and
3. Introductory knowledge of the data analysis methods employed in political science research — namely, statistical inference and linear regression — which will be studied more in depth in POL232.

teaching assistant

Graduate Level (Methods courses)

 

POL2504: statistics for political scientiests ( University of Toronto,  st. george )

• Fall 2018 (On-campus/in-person)
• Student population: PhD

• Course Description and Objectives: This course is designed to expose PhD students to the basic tools of quantitative analysis in political science. At the end of the course, you will be prepared to do three things:

1. Read and critique quantitative political science
2. Conduct basic analyses, including both descriptive inference and linear regression
3. Take POL 2507 and move forward in the broader quantitative sequence in our department

• Item 1 is absolutely essential to your development as political scientists. Every subfield in political science other than political theory has a rich literature of both quantitative and qualitative research designs, and having the ability to read and understand the strengths and weaknesses of an article or book based largely on quantitative methods is the only way to grasp the full gamut of claims made about your dissertation topic. This class will give you the tools to interpret most quantitative articles and books and identify the (often implicit) assumptions on which their evidence is based. By identifying these assumptions, you will be able to decide for yourself whether to trust the results of a piece of scholarly work.
• While you may or may not include substantial quantitative work in your dissertation itself, having that option greatly improves your ability to craft a dissertation that answers the questions you want to ask. This course relies on R, open-source software that is widely used both in the social sciences and industry. Facility with a statistical software is essential to the practice of quantitative political science. In our department, there are faculty and graduate students who use R, Python, Stata, SPSS, and probably others. We focus on R in this course because it is free and because I believe it is easier to pick up additional languages having already learned the basics of R than to pick up R based on knowledge of other software.
• The third item is similarly important. Though not all of you will go on to take more quantitative courses, especially if you are early in the program, you want to keep your options open. Graduate school — and your coursework-heavy first and second year especially — is the best time to obtain skills like quantitative analysis, which are often very hard to learn outside the classroom.

 

MPP-C5: Statistics I: Descriptives, Inference and Regression (Hertie school)

• Fall 2016 (On-campus/in-person)
• Student population: Master of Public Policy

• Course Description and Objectives: This course offers an introduction to quantitative research methods for public policy. By the end of the semester, students should have a better acquaintance with quantitative methods conducive to empirical policy research and the ability to understand and critique the techniques employed by others. No prior knowledge of statistics is assumed and we will make every effort to address concepts both quantitatively and theoretically. Additionally, every student will attend a weekly lab session run by a teaching assistant in which concepts will be reinforced, where possible, through hands‐on application using Stata. The goal of this course is not only to produce sophisticated consumers of quantitative research but to provide the necessary skills for students to conduct their own research. As such, we eschew the conventional stopping point for an introductory statistics course and spend several weeks on multiple regression. Almost no phenomena in the social world result from singular causality, so a useful applied course must train students in assessing multiple causality. We do so. Attendance in both lecture and lab is mandatory. I urge students to keep up with the readings since the information in this class is highly cumulative. 

 

MPP-C6: Statistics II: Time Series, Panel Data and Limited Dependent Variables  (Hertie school)

• Spring 2017 (On-campus/in-person)
• Quantitative Methods Advisor
• Student population: Master of Public Policy

• Course Description and Objectives: This course introduces students to an array of commonly used statistical techniques with a strong emphasis on actual application. All classes take place in the computer lab and divide time between theory and application. Students are assigned a problem set at the end of each class covering that day’s materials and the beginning of the following class is used to review the answers. As this is an applied class, most of these assignments involve the proper analysis of practice datasets using Stata. This class design is intended to provide students with both a theoretical and concrete understanding of statistical techniques. The course begins with a review of OLS regression and covers elementary time-series and panel data, before introducing students to maximum likelihood estimation and some categorical data designs. Additional useful material on factor analysis and instrumental variables will be covered as time permits.

 

other Teaching Experience

Guest lecturer

 

Quantitative Research Design in the Social Sciences, (Research training program for UTM students, University of Toronto, Mississauga)

• Fall 2020 (Online – synchronous)
• Student population: Undergraduate