My Teaching Philosophy

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.