TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Over a twenty-year career in higher education and through a number of different roles at FGCU, I’ve come to believe in four basic tenets that have framed my approach to teaching. I call them the Four P’s – People, Process, Place, and Product.

People – The two primary “actors” in the educational process are the student and the teacher. While both are critical to the process, I believe in a student-centered teaching approach. Here are just some of the strategies I use to achieve this:

Take a personal interest in each student’s success, both in my own class and as a member of the greater FGCU community. It is not enough for them just to pass my class. I must play a supportive role in their persistence to graduation.
Tap into each student’s natural inner drive and curiosity. I like to use a variety of instructional techniques and strive to provide an interesting and interactive learning environment that engages them at an emotional level, and deepens their understanding of the concept.
Help build each student’s self-confidence and self-efficacy. Some people outside higher education view college students as fully-functioning adults, just smaller in size. The reality is that most students are still developing socially, emotionally, and cognitively. Being sensitive to the challenges of students is not just an obligation, it is an imperative.

This is not to say that I don’t maintain high expectations for their performance or hold them responsible for their own learning. I do. I suppose you could call my approach to working with students as “be supportive but hold accountable.”

Obviously, the teacher is also a very influential actor in the educational process. As Parker Palmer (1997) has stated, “We teach who we are.” Consequently, our attitude and views on learning theories can shape the experience the students have in the classroom. I received excellent training in this area while pursuing my M.A. Degree in Educational Leadership. I have studied the best practices in instructional strategies and curriculum development, and have been mentored by expert faculty members. (You could even so far as to call me an “expert student” having taken over 35 master’s level courses since I have been at FGCU!)

Despite my eight years of teaching experience and training in the field, I still sometimes feel like I am scratching the surface of the profession. But, like any good educator, I suppose we are all still learning and trying to get better. However, I do take pride in the very positive feedback from my student’s on the Student Perception of Instruction survey, and felt honored to be nominated as the Adjunct Faculty of the Year in 2015.

Process – These are the methods by which you teach your class – your instructional style, how you facilitate class activities, and how formulate homework assignments. As I eluded to previously, I strive to provide an interesting and interactive learning environment. This is one of the reasons I enjoy teaching Entrepreneurship & Creativity so much – teaching the creative process allows for such a diversity of innovative pedagogical methods. I like to create “authentic” learning experiences for students by connecting the concept to their real-life contexts and situations. For example, when teaching the Da Vinci method of creativity, I have the students use it to identify ways to improve their own health and well-being. They seem to really embrace activities that have personal relevance. This also seems to align closely with the “learning-by-creating value” concept (Sagar, 2013) that I have been researching.

Place – The notion of “place” is most commonly associated with the physical classroom. To that end, I strive to create an energetic yet respectful classroom environment. Making the classroom a psychologically safe place is also important, especially when teaching entrepreneurship. Mistakes are inevitable, sometimes ideas are just plain bad, and failure is part of the process, so it helps for them to know that they are in environment where they will not be judged, by me or their classmates.

However, I also like to expand the learning space beyond the classroom. This semester, my students will be able to improve their creative skills by taking a nature walk, going to the cinema, or visiting an art exhibit. They can also create their own “mental room” by reserving time for contemplation and idea incubation.

Product – The product is what you are trying to help the students learn, whether it be knowledge, skills, or mindsets. Each course has its own set of Learning Outcomes. It does not mater how supportive I am or how fun the class is, if the students are not achieving the desired outcomes for the course, I am not doing my job as a teacher. The Learning Outcomes dictate the choice of text, the design of the curriculum, and the formulation of activities and assignments. Over the years, I feel I have developed a strong sense as to how to create a course curriculum to better meet the needs of the course. For example, most recently, I suggested the adoption of a different textbook (“The Creators Code”) for the Introduction to Entrepreneurship class. Feedback from students and faculty is that the book has been a much better fit in the course.