When I began teaching at the University of Prince Edward Island, I thought I was supposed to teach students what they needed to know;
cover as much material as possible! As I
lectured over the years, however, I have realized that creating a classroom
environment where students would “want to know” and be curious is really more
important. Today, when I teach or
organize the material/activities for my courses, I keep two things in mind:
(1)
although coverage of the material is important, it is even more essential that I
ensure that students are interested in learning; and
(2) students learn best
through an interactive teaching style that demands their active participation,
challenges their abilities, and provides them with sufficient freedom to be
creative and curious.
My philosophy of teaching is based on a belief
that learning needs to be student centered and that students need to be equal
partners in the learning process. The ultimate
goal of most of the activities or teaching strategies that use in my
courses is to encourage students to be active learners. In all my courses, I make a special effort to
facilitate and encourage peer learning.
In my opinion, peer learning is the most efficient way for students to
gain deeper understanding of new concepts through a relatively informal
means.
I always design class
activities that encourage students to share their opinions, perspectives, doubts
and experiences. I also focus on
building independent skills such as the ability to connect concepts, solve
problems as well as practice different types of scientific writing. I believe that working on these types of skills
is crucial to prepare students for “real world” situations, therefore when I
grade the work done by students I favor inquisitiveness, practice, analysis and
creativity.
It is very difficult to become an inspiring
teacher if you don’t have a genuine interest in the subject one teaches...
I think that we need to show enthusiasm and
passion when we teach because it significantly affects learning and student
engagement. I am one of those people who
believe that when teaching, you are actually performing. In other words, you need to feel a little bit
like a showman who is entertaining or is trying to captivate an audience. Thus, I persistently try to motivate and
engage students using real-life examples, anecdotal information, social media, or
anything that can help my audience to remain “connected to me”. I think students can sense very quickly
whether an instructor is enthusiastic about teaching, and I believe that such
vitality can be infectious. I admit that
maintaining student’s attention or motivation to learn could be challenging in
large classes where some students can remain incognito very easily. Through the years, however, I have learned
that one of the best ways to engage students is by using my own personal
experiences to illustrate concepts or ideas, but also to force them to stay
mentally present. For instance, I find
that many students are more interested to learn when I use examples from my own
research projects. Other students get
motivated to learn when they are given the opportunity to share their knowledge,
experiences and/or difficulties with their peers. Therefore, I always make an effort to include
in my courses activities that force students to collaborate, discuss and
cooperate together.
Effective communication with students is an
essential component of my teaching philosophy.
I am always trying to improve the ways that I convey or exchange
information with my students. Students
in my courses know that they can stop me any time if they need clarification,
more time to write their notes, or if they need me to repeat the
information. It is essential for me to
gauge how effective my communication is with my students, especially when I
teach large classes. So, I always make
the effort to obtain visual or oral feedback from my students. I observe their faces, ask questions and
leave time/space for them to ask me questions. Sometimes, I force a little bit
the situation by “volunteering” people to ask questions. All these strategies help me to vary the pace
of the class which allows me to see what students are struggling with.
An important element that characterizes my way of
teaching lectures is that I don’t have, or use lecture notes. I believe that this helps me to keep very
good eye contact with my students because I am always looking at them. I make the point to look directly at my
students’ faces to see their reactions and determine whether or not they
understand what I am explaining to them.
Of course, it is always a little bit more challenging to do this when
teaching large classes, but I have developed ways to deal with this issue. For example, I move around the classroom, so
I can maintain eye contact with most students regardless of where they are sitting
in the classroom. I also organize short 1-2 minutes dialogue exercises where
students can gain bonus points if they ask a question, discuss potential
answers or exchange information regarding a particular issue/concept or idea.
Finally, a key component of my teaching
philosophy is to maintain a respectful and amicable relationship with students...
It is very important for me that my
students feel comfortable with me, so they approach me for assistance. I always encourage students to feel at ease to
talk with me about their concerns regarding the course, their grades or
anything else that they might consider important. As an instructor at a small university, I consider that I have a unique opportunity to influence the
directions of my students at a formative time in their lives. Therefore, I also see my teaching role as both
mentor and adviser to prepare students for what lies beyond graduation. I continuously tell students they are welcome
to come by my office at almost any time and, unless I have an immediate
deadline, meeting or class, I will always make the time to help them.
