Teaching Philosophy
If you step into my classroom at the start of any given lecture, you will find me standing at the front of the class with a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. I will have written some words on the board which serve as an outline for the students and a reminder for me. I start the class by asking them to tell me how we got here as a sort of warm up for students: “What are we reading?”, “Who are our characters?”, “What are they talking about?” Everyone likes answering a question to which they know the answer, and I find that students feel more comfortable speaking after they’ve already said something. From there I move to bigger questions like “What do our characters believe?” and “What arguments are they making?” These questions take a bit more time to answer. Often I ask them to brainstorm an answer in small groups and work to come up with the answer; it doesn’t take long for a consensus to form and hands to go up. This process of building the narrative and getting students to interact is an essential aspect of the start of every one of my classes. It primes the discussion and gets everyone ready to discuss the material.
Once the class is in full swing, I read a few prepared selections from our reading aloud or ask a student to do so. I often pause to ask the students about the meaning of what we are reading, breaking them into groups if they still don’t seem ready to contribute. As the class progresses, students take turns summarizing ideas in their own words. I provide corrections or add details where needed, but I make a point to affirm the positive aspects of their answers. I prepare questions which encourage students to reflect on how aspects of the text impact our current views or beliefs, and sometimes students prepare a list of their own questions to bring to class. The lengthy conversation that follows leads us through to the end of class, where I then provide a brief summary of our discussion, a small preview of their next reading assignment, and suggestions on what to look for while reading. This is the recipe I follow for almost every class period.
I structure my class this way because it fits my teaching persona. I believe that in order to be an effective teacher, you must be prepared, sincere, and passionate. I don't mean preparation in the sense of a neatly organized lesson plan which partitions the lecture into five-minute activities—I mean the kind of preparation which involves knowing what the class is about, why you are teaching it, and where you want each lecture to go. In my experience, it doesn't matter how precisely you run the class if you have no idea where it is going . The students will not learn the material if you cannot demonstrate its significance. Students already have a lot on their plate; if they do not see any further purpose behind learning the material, they will tune it out. This speaks to the need for sincerity. Only by being completely honest with students about your expectations, your plans, and your assessment style does the classroom culture take on a positive atmosphere. Lastly, I feel having passion as an educator is paramount. If you don't absolutely love the material you teach, how can you expect the students to find interest in it? In my experience, caring about the material and the success of your students is essential to good teaching.
Through educators’ preparation, sincerity and passion, I believe we have the capacity to set our students up for success by demonstrating what it takes to be successful in school, in our careers, and in our lives. I don't expect my students to remember every detail of my course. What I do hope is that my dynamic approach to teaching philosophy inspires them to approach their interests, jobs, and lives in the same way. If I have done that, then I will have succeeded as a teacher.