Teaching Philosophy
Photograph by Beatrice Bankauskaite
Purpose
Students thrive under the carefully orchestrated pressures of assignments, deadlines, creativity stimulation, critical thinking exercises, and feedback. Through these methods, the classroom becomes a vibrant center of intellectual exchange. Here, students fuse their individual learning from assigned readings and note making, engaging in collaborative learning through the sharing of diverse ideas and insights. My guidance ensures that each class time together arrives at clearly defined learning objectives that set the stage for subsequent classes and the culminating final project.
In an era where fact memorization is often eclipsed by the limitless information available at our fingertips, students must cultivate creativity to stand out as a candidate for a changing workforce. I guide students to locate where to focus their academic endeavors, leading them through the layers of exploration, synthesis, and the time it takes to arrive at original and substantial ideas. This process empowers them to weave disparate strands of knowledge into innovative and productive outcomes, fusing playfulness with serious intellectual pursuit.
I maintain a dynamic lead in the educational journey by thoroughly knowing not only the curriculum but also the underlying influences, including key texts, historical contexts, pivotal figures, theoretical underpinnings, vital skills, and practical applications. My commitment extends beyond the specific classes I lead to foster a collective sense of our students within the university. By actively coordinating with fellow instructors, I align my class goals with theirs, ensuring a harmonized academic experience for the students. This collaborative approach reinforces the sense that the entire university is united in a shared educational mission, conspiring to offer a holistic, integrated, and vibrant learning journey.
Direction
I make it a habit to arrive 30 minutes early to the classroom, setting up an inviting atmosphere by playing music from various global cultures. This creates an environment where students can mingle and relax—a lively alternative to the customary silence of a “serious” classroom. With precision, the music halts on the stroke of the hour, and I present a countdown timer, assuring the students that our session will end exactly at the predetermined time, marked by the strike of a singing bowl, 15 minutes ahead of the catalog-prescribed schedule. The timer, facing the students for the duration of class time, stands as a tangible symbol of our mutual agreement to exchange their complete attention for my engaging lesson and relevant discussion. The practice of consistently ending class early fosters an environment where they can remain for further question and conversation without the pressure of rushing to their next commitment.
The lessons commence with a review of the prior week, followed by a brief presentation on essential learning skills, encompassing techniques for weekly planning, effective reading habits, note-taking strategies, resume building, and the use of tools such as Gantt charts and citation management systems. Underlying this approach is my pedagogical belief that merely assigning group work or deadlines is insufficient; true learning requires teaching students how to contribute to group projects and manage their time effectively towards large projects.
My teaching extends beyond displaying PowerPoint slides. I maintain a minimal visual presentation and instead focus on a memorable amount of vocabulary and concepts, allowing flexibility for student questions, engaging digressions, and connections to prior lessons. By posing all learning outcomes as questions, I prompt active participation, encouraging students to think and synthesize rather than merely absorb or memorize. This philosophy is reinforced through small group activities, class-wide games, and a systematic progression of individual writing, partner discussions, and class sharing.
I adopt a do-as-I-do approach, modeling desired behaviors and practices with my teaching assistant and sharing my progress on the same assignments, literature reviews, and final projects the students are working. By showing students my preparation process, outline, Gantt chart, drafting stages, and even allowing them to grade my work, I make the learning experience tangible and relatable.
To maintain attendance and engagement, each class concludes with a one-question quiz, projected for all to see and answered through Canvas. This simple point system not only ensures presence but also fosters a collective motivation to attend every week, as the attendance average is tied to the final assignment's lowest possible grade.
The session ends with a spirited call-and-response chant of "M-I-Z" and "Z-O-U," creating a memorable, energizing conclusion to our shared intellectual journey.
Motivation
Students attain true success in their academic journey not merely through the pursuit of superior grades, but through a series of transformative experiences. Their success is marked by the courage to set aside the anxiety of grades and focus on expanding intellectual horizons. It is seen in their willingness to risk the obvious and derivative in favor of pursuits that push their scholastic and creative boundaries. It manifests in the elevation of their thinking, as they exit the class with fresh perspectives and ways of seeing the world that were previously unknown to them. Their success is further validated when they find the knowledge gained within the classroom to be applicable and invigorating beyond its walls, enabling them to approach new contexts with timeless principles and a heightened sense of curiosity. Moreover, the skills they acquire in planning, communicating, and leading not only contribute to their academic accomplishments but also lay the foundation for success in their subsequent classrooms, jobs, and communities. This holistic approach to education is what I strive to foster, cultivating an environment where learning transcends a temporary state of instruction to become a lifelong endeavor.
-
Allitt, P. N. (2010). The art of teaching: Best practices from a master educator [Recorded lecture]. The Great Courses.
Ambrose, S. A. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.
Beghetto, R. A. (2016). Big wins, small steps: How to lead for and with creativity. SAGE.
Brody, D. (2015). How to draw [Recorded lecture]. The Great Courses.
Darby, F., & Lang, J. M. (2019). Small teaching online: Applying learning science in online classes. Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Brand.
Flanigan, K. (2015). Building a better vacabulary [Recorded lecture]. The Great Courses.
Germano, W. P., & Nicholls, K. (2020). Syllabus: The remarkable, unremarkable document that changes everything. Princeton University Press.
Harrington, C., & Thomas, M. (2018). Designing a motivalional syllabus. Stylus Publishing.
Leary, M. (2020). Your public persona: Self-presentation in everyday life [Recorded lecture]. The Great Courses.
McNair, T. B., Major, T., Jr., McDonald, N. L., Cooper, M. A., & Albertine, S. L. (2016). Becoming a student-ready college: A new culture of leadership for student success. Jossey-Bass.
Olson, K., & Kleinhenz, C. (2020). Approaches to teaching Dante’s Divine Comedy. Modern Language Association of America.
Pasupathi, M. (2012). How we learn [Recorded lecture]. The Great Courses.
Persillin, D. C., & Daniels, M. B. (2018). A consise guide to: Teaching with desirable difficulties. Stylus Publishing.
Polk, T. (2018). The learning brain [Recorded lecture]. The Great Courses.
Shaberg, C. (2022). Pedagogy of the depressed. Bloomsbury Academic.
Stratham, A., & Spain, J. N. (2015). The pursuit of teaching excellence: Lessons from the University of Missouri Kemper Teaching Fellows. University of Missouri—Columbia.
Tanton, J. (2016). The power of mathematical visualization [Recorded lecture]. The Great Courses.
Tough, P. (2019). The years that matter most: How college makes or breaks us. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Wiseman, A. W. (2015). How the world learns: Comparative educational systems [Recorded lecture]. The Great Courses.