When I think about my role as an educator, the one thing that I constantly focus on is the relationships that I am able to build with my students. I enjoy having conversations with them on subjects and issues that are important to them, to learn on how they are feeling about and experiencing the world and the material that we are studying. My classes becomes more of a community, in where we are all sharing ideas, thoughts and learning from one another. This is one of the reasons why I love teaching in higher education. I have a very firm belief that people of all ages can make great changes in the world if they are given the opportunity, right information and tools.
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My teaching is learner-centered and within the context of Cognitive Constructivism, which states that knowledge is actively constructed by learners and learning is presented as active discovery. Therefore, my role as an instructor is to facilitate discovery by providing the tools and resources that would support and guide my students as they assimilate new knowledge from previous knowledge. I strongly believe that in today’s world, educators are no longer the single source of knowledge in the classroom but rather are engaged in helping students move from passive recipients to active creators of knowledge and ideas. I thrive to validate my student’s pre-existing knowledge and abilities, as to encourage them to see themselves as actors in the intellectual arena, a world where thoughts and ideas have both potential and consequences. I work to be a positive role model, a knowledgeable resource and a collaborator to my students while at the same time, allowing them to be flexible and critical in their thinking.
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I like to make students feel the force of the questions asked in any class, to recognize that these questions don’t go away if we don’t ask them, and to feel that they are the kinds of questions that they could genuinely answer if they pursued them carefully enough. To achieve this, I am very careful in how I present my own attitude towards difficult questions and allow students to talk through these questions themselves before offering solutions or answers. The result of this exploration leads students to respect certain issues they may not otherwise care about or understand. I want students to care about what they are learning, but I think it is more important to get students in the habit of respecting issues that may not immediately or personally affect them.
My pedagogic philosophy demands that my teaching style be highly interactive, engaging students in a dialogue and putting students into dialogue with each other to instill a collaborative learning environment. I aim to always create an open, safe learning environment in where my students feel free to express different ideas, opinions, and worldviews while promoting the highest level of respect for one another. I believe that a good relationship between an educator and student is built on a strong foundation of mutual understanding, respect, and trust. An educator must be the first to open the doors of good communication while effectively communicating work and learning expectations. I see the syllabus as a document that promotes this communication and these expectations, with methods for evaluation and clear timelines for assignments. In this way all students are treated fairly against a standard set of criteria. When both the educator and student understand each other’s goals and points of view, the building blocks of mutual respect are developed and thus, the learning begins.
Teaching Philosophy
