As an educator, I strive to create a collaborative and engaging learning environment and practice a pedagogy of authentic caring. Often, this translates into an earnest effort to learn my students’ names so I can connect with them one-on-one and in groups, with the goal of encouraging participation to support the learning process. In my classes, I foster a collaborative learning community by using small-group and class-based discussions to reflect on lecture material and its relevance to students’ everyday lives. My approach to teaching is intended to foster student learning and an inclusive learning environment by creating classrooms in which students are encouraged to think through issues of racial inequality and institutional solutions to addressing them.
I use my weekly office hours as an open invitation to discuss students’ interests in class-related topics, progress on assignments, and students’ professional development and exploration. I make myself available for early feedback on in-class essays and assignments to encourage students to start work early and become familiar with the revision-based writing process. As a first-generation college graduate and researcher of educational inequality, I find office hours a critical pathway to fostering connections and supporting undergraduate students. I am open to meeting with students interested in discussing class concepts, the transfer and graduate school application processes, graduate school, or college life more broadly.
“The teacher is amazing. I truly loved going to discussion because of him. He was respectful, nice, caring, and geniuely wanted to see you succeed.” – Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies, Fall 2025
“He’s kind and caring and explains things thoroughly and gives us valuable feedback.”– Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies, Fall 2025
“Professor Gutierrez is truly one of the most outstanding professors I’ve had at UCI—this class quickly became my favorite. He excels at fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment where student participation and mentorship are clearly prioritized. I’ve never felt so supported in a classroom setting. From day one, Professor Gutierrez structured the course to center student growth, with thoughtful participation prompts that showed he were not only reading our responses, but genuinely engaging with them. Their feedback was consistent, encouraging, and deeply thoughtful….Despite this being his first time teaching, he carried himself with the confidence and care of a seasoned educator. I especially appreciated the open-ended participation questions and discussion-based lectures, which allowed for meaningful peer-to-peer engagement and deeper reflection on the course material. I only wish he taught more classes—I would enroll in every single one!” – Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies, Spring 2025
“This instructor is very passionate about their work and communicates very effectively with their students. This instructor cares about their work and the content he is teaching. He put an extreme amount of effort into helping and understanding his students. I have never felt like I could not reach out and ask questions about the course. I really appreciated being able to learn from a person who is so knowledgeable.” – Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies, Spring 2025
“The instructor is clearly very passionate and knowledgeable about the subject, which made it easy to see that he cares about what he’s teaching. His enthusiasm came through in class, and I appreciated how willing he was to answer questions and clarify confusing topics. He was also approachable and open to feedback, which helped create a positive classroom environment.” – Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies, Spring 2025
“Very informative and makes the information easy to digest, even if it is a little dense. Also knows how to make the content relatable since the class was about chicano studies with many latino students. Also very well spoken and a good public speaker which is a bonus.” – Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies, Spring 2025
“He gave very good feedback on my writing for our project, and he gave me clarity when he answered my questions about course topics. I never left the discussion feeling more confused. He was extremely supportive and I appreciated him sharing his own stories about being a Ph.D. student. He’s a great mentor because he always mentioned that if we ever needed help or a letter of recommendation, we could reach out to him for help. He managed his time correctly we during discussion we were always able to get through the topics and ask questions. He is kind and very caring and is very passionate and creative with the reflection questions about the course content.”
– Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies III, Spring 2023“He was very understanding when we were confused about things and helped us go over course material so that we would have a better understanding. He also made worksheets for us once we noticed that it was a very helpful way for us to study the course readings. He was also very attentive when it came to our individual work and would come and ask us if we needed help. In my own experience, that was very helpful because I struggle going up to teachers to ask for help so the fact that he would come to us to check on us relieved me from the anxiety of asking for help.” – Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies III, Spring 2023
“One of the strongest points that I saw during the TA discussion sections was that he was extremely informed and well versed in the class subject and was able to easily and simply explain course subjects that were difficult to understand. The set up of his discussion also contributed greatly in my class success because of his ease and confidence in the class subjects and teaching strategies, such as worksheets, peer discussions, and group discussions.”– Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies III, Spring 2023
“TA was able to effectively review lecture material and clarify any questions that we had. Practice work sheets were extremely useful for solidifying our understanding of what we were learning. He was always trying to ensure that everyone was on the same page, understood main concepts, and always made himself available if anyone needed extra help.” – Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies III, Spring 2023
“Very detailed understanding of all course material. He showed a clear passion for the subject and was very interested in knowing if people understood his explanation. It’s been a while since I have talked to TA that is so passionate about the subject and so willing to help students understand the material.”– Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies III, Spring 2023
“His approachability and friendliness is a breathe of fresh air, as I have had many TAs I did not feel too comfortable approaching but his chill kind attitude helped ease my anxieties.” – Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies III, Spring 2023
“Jose has honestly been one of the best TAs I have ever experienced at UCI. I rarely feel comfortable enough to approach the TA on class topics but Jose presented in a fashion that made me feel a lot more informed on the topic than I thought I was to begin with. I talked to him often after class because the course and his sections genuinely sparked an interest in the material I didn’t think I have.”
– Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Sociology, Winter 2023“During discussion, Mr. Gutierrez creates powerpoints that effectively summarizes the content from lectures and readings. I like that he encourages group collaboration. He is also enthusiastic when presenting and is interactive with students as he responds to every student’s response in an engaging, conversational manner. He is passionate about the course. He also provides very good feedback on class assignments.” – Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Sociology, Winter 2023
Jose J. Gutierrez 