teaching
In Spring 2026 I am on research leave. When I am not on leave, I teach a course sequence "Language and the Human," which is a part of UChicago's Core curriculum. The syllabus features an eclectic mix of literature, linguistics, philosophy, and anthropology. Next academic year, I will also teach philosophy of cognitive science––most likely in the Winter quarter.
Between 2019 and 2022 I was a Graduate Teaching Fellow at Queens College, CUNY. In 2021/2022 I was a course assistant in NYU's Bioethics program. In 2022/2023 I was a Writing Across the Curriculum Fellow at LaGuardia Community College. My teaching portfolio is available here.
Here are some nice things that my students had to say about me:
LANGUAGE AND THE HUMAN (University of Chicago)
Tomasz was one of the most approachable, kind professors I've had the opportunity to get to know. Simply being himself and conducting the class with the skill, kindness, and fun nature that he does makes for such an open and engaging learning environment. In fact I found myself more motivated to succeed in this class not because it was hard to do well (its not) but simply because I respected Tomasz and didn't want to submit something I wasn't proud of or didn't want him to read. HES THAT GOOD. Take a class with Tomasz you will not regret it I promise.
Tomasz gives excellent feedback, not only on essays, but on rambles of ideas. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm saying when I participate in class, but he has this magic power to figure out and paraphrase the value of every comment in class, which massively helps drive our discussion. He also asks really good follow up questions and objections and seems to make real–world examples and analogies appear out of thin air. This helps increase the depth of our class discussions.
PLEASE TAKE 3RD QUARTER HUM WITH TOMASZ he is the loveliest professor I will likely ever have the privilege of knowing–––if you have the opportunity to take this course with him DO IT. He is an incredibly considerate and thoughtful lecturer who truly embodies what it means to *want* to see your students succeed.
I think that the way that Professor Tomasz allowed students to openly speak during class discussions, while still making sure we stayed on the topic was very helpful. I would often think back to those moments when formatting my essays.
By far the best thing Tomasz does is simply have a genuine love for his work as our professor. You can see that he truly appreciates the thoughts and dialogue of his students and takes genuine curiosity in our opinions!
Tomasz sometimes started the class with a slideshow presenting the main ideas of the text we read for homework. These slides helped clarify the concepts for me. Tomasz also did a phenomenal job guiding the discussions. He explained my classmate's points and challenged us to consider counterarguments or critiques. Because of this, discussions felt productive.
You cannot tell that this is Tomasz's first quarter teaching at The University of Chicago. He has been an incredibly lively lecturer with great enthusiasm for linguistics and philosophy. He directs discussion expertly, allowing students to speak while inserting his own opinions when relevant and helpful. Thus, he doesn't consume all of the class time with random asides like some professors whilst also being able to direct the conversation so that it doesn't die or so we aren't confused about the material. Probably the best part about Tomasz's teaching is that he empathizes with students and is flexible about course policies, provided you engage in conversation with him and have a somewhat reasonable argument as to why you'd like to see a specific change. I was relieved to see that he would also be teaching my section in the winter quarter, if that's any consolation for how well–taught this course was. I will add Tomasz is quite blunt and pragmatic in feedback, which I appreciated.
PHILOSOPHY OF THE ENVIRONMENT (Queens College, CUNY)
I enjoyed being able to have philosophical environment in a comfortable environment. I never felt like I was going to be judged for my opinion. I felt comfortable and excited to share which is rare for me. I also appreciated how fair and predictable the assignments were. I never felt stressed because the directions were clear and consistent. For example the essay and essay plans were on the syllabus and explained in advance so I was able to write one a week in advance because I knew I would be busy around the due date.
I would recommend this instructor to a friend because he conducts class with an irreplaceable politeness and care for the students and the material. He is very level-headed and humble and just wants to make sure his students do well, and makes that clear every day of the semester. Everyone who is able should take a class with Tomasz.
I would recommend this instructor to a friend because he is very passionate and explains the material clearly. The grade system he has in place is also very clear. Assignments are clear and straight forward.
The professor always had great lectures and discussions regarding our assigned readings. I never thought you could connect the environment to philosophy, but after this semester, I know otherwise.
It was very thorough. Difficult concepts were explained in detail and the Professor had a lot of enthusiasm teaching the course.
It's a very chill environment to share your thoughts on certain philosophical topics. The best part is how we can create memes as a way to complete the reading responses. It was a good way to make me read the articles attentively because I needed as much information as I could in order to make a unique meme.
The discussion board was convenient to keep up with! Usually I am very bad about participating in discussion boards so I appreciated this most of all.
The professor is a very understanding individual with a good heart.
The professor was very fair with the grading scale. It was clearly established how to write the assigned essays, and we were given plenty of time to do them.
I absolutely would recommend this instructor to a friend he is an absolute sweetheart. He is very nice and understanding and makes class fun and engaging. He is very fair with grading and assignments and creates a safe and engaging classroom setting.
Tomasz really cares about our understanding of what we cover in class. He is also very easily accessible when you have questions both over email and through Zoom.
I really enjoyed Professor Tomasz enthusiasm he had every lecture. He had many class discussions, group activities and made sure everyone felt welcomed in the classroom.
MODERN LOGIC (Queens College, CUNY)
Professor Zyglewicz was kind, thoughtful and open to any questions. The class in itself is not easy. It is very hard and tedious. Professor Zyglewicz made sure to help you in any way he could. I appreciated his help in the class. If you need to take logic, it is a MUST with Zyglewicz.
Tomasz is simply one of the best professors I've encountered in my academic career. He is kind, thoughtful and very intuitive when it comes to problems his students are struggling with. The work is rewarding and the learning the material was easy thanks to him.
Tomasz has my endorsement as an instructor. He is very straightforward about the material and always leaves room for students to ask questions when they might not understand something, and in my experience he always is successful with clarifications. He continues to work with a student until the student has grasped a concept and he is nice about it too. It is clear that he enjoys his field and that shines through in his patient instruction.
Personally this course was a major highlight of my semester and I cannot imagine any significant adjustments being needed. At most I would have liked to see the slides from class posted as a separate resource each week because sometimes I understood the slides better than the textbooks and it becomes cumbersome to skip through an entire video to find information on one slide.
What I liked the most about this class was that I was comfortable enough to participate and not be worried about being wrong. The professor made everyone feel comfortable. It felt as if it was a student teaching the class.
This is a topic that I have never learned before, the professor is very nice, and gave full attention to all the students! Most importantly, he always gives great advice and is very patient with all students!
I would recommend him, as his casual demeanor and investment in his students makes him both approachable and helpful. He is sure to notify us regarding his availability and sets aside additional time to help students with the course. Additionally, he always asks if anyone is coming to office hours, which I feel really makes people more accepting of help, since it was offered first.
I would recommend Professor Zyglewicz for the following reasons: 1) He is highly communicative. I especially appreciated his practice of sending a summary email following each lecture detailing the assignments, lecture/homework corrections, etc. Thanks to this, I always knew what was going on, even when I got sick and missed classes. 2) He is flexible and available with his time outside of class, so anyone who wants extra help can get plenty of it.