Statement of Teaching Philosophy
Michael
D. Behrens
Four
goals influence my advising and teaching: I aim to foster intrinsic motivation
in my students, promote critical thinking, involve student-centered learning,
and continually develop my pedagogy. While each teaching situation (lecture,
laboratory, discussion) has its own challenges and requires adaptation of our
teaching methods, these four goals act as a guide in my teaching. The basic
goal of all teaching involves the imparting of facts upon others, but this is
only where the teaching begins. By following these goals in the classroom, I
want students begin to take control of their learning and are not satisfied
being told about the world, but rather begin to make their own judgments about
the world. Instead of just recalling facts, they pursue learning where facts
are integrated, evaluated and placed in a larger context. Each goal plays an
integral part in the process of allowing students become independent thinkers.
Let me elaborate and explain these goals so as to better understand my teaching
philosophy.
Most students enjoy learning as an activity, but the focus on
external motivators, such as grades, leads to an attitude of “I only want
to learn what is on the exam.”
This view is shortsighted and by tapping into student’s intrinsic
motivation we can guide our students to learn the material for its own good.
Reducing the motivational power of grades is never easy, but I attempt to limit
their emphasis and importance and instead emphasize and aggrandize effort and
building on intellectual successes. Once extrinsic motivators have been
reduced, we can begin to utilize other measures of intrinsic motivation theory.
These can include mastery learning, where students are required to resubmit
incomplete or hastily completed assignments until they are satisfactory.
Additionally, experiential learning where students are put into real life
situations and allowed to simultaneously learn and apply concepts can be very
powerful forces for building future motivation. These motivational tools lead
students to want to learn more than facts and then can begin to learn critical
thinking.
Critical
thinking requires students to show active inquiry skills to understand existing
knowledge and competing viewpoints. However, this is just the basic
requirement. For critical thinking to be fully explored and experienced,
students must let this inquiry be driven by alternative hypotheses. Once facts
have been introduced in the classroom, students must understand all hypotheses and
evaluate information with the assumption that each hypothesis is true. This
leads to the recognition of uncertainty within all hypotheses and the ability
to make judgments about the opposing ideas with a fuller understanding of the
strengths, weaknesses, and support for all sides. This sort of inquiry can be
facilitated in the classroom in many ways. The reading and discussion of
scientific literature in the classroom can be very useful, since nearly every
scientific argument has a counter argument and data to support both sides.
Group discussions, role-playing, and writing assignments requiring students to
address an issue by evaluating the assumptions and support for both sides can
also be very effective, especially when students play roles or support sides
opposite to there own personal viewpoints. This sort of higher-level learning
requires a feeling of safety for the students to feel free enough to express
themselves. This can be achieved with some simple ground rules and an
environment where effort and not outcome is the key to success and criticism is
replaced by logical discourse.
Critical thinking and other forms of deeper learning often
require additional time and experiences, both inside and outside the classroom,
for student catalyze their own learning. This student-driven learning and
development often takes place in the hours outside of official instructional
activities and it is extremely important that the teacher is available to
support these activities outside of class. This support includes both time for
answering emerging questions, and supplying further educational resources, such
as web-based materials and guidance in obtaining appropriate literature. In the
classroom, student-driven learning can begin with student led discussions, where
the teacher relinquishes some control to allow students to learn from their
peers. Once students feel some control of their education, they will take
ownership of it and will be motivated for further learning.
Of
course all of a teacher’s best goals and lesson plans may be wasted if
they are not appropriate to the subject matter and the needs of the student. To
continue to develop my pedagogy, it is important to determine the success of my
teaching practices in two ways. First, are students learning the material and
skills that I feel are important? Since students tend to learn what we examine
for, either through tests or other assignments, it is important to design
examinations of knowledge and skills that match our objectives. The second
method to determine the success in teaching is continuous evaluation of whether
the students’ needs are being met by my methods. For example, “have
I developed an environment that is safe and conducive to exploring critical
thinking activities?”
I
feel the above goals lead to an educational experience where students are
motivated and challenged to go beyond learning facts to develop into students
who can critically evaluate the world around them in all facets of their lives.
While implementing these goals in my teaching takes a lot of work, it is always
rewarding. Most teachers do not teach for the glory or the money, but rather
rewards that come with the hard work. For me, witnessing a student being
challenged to re-examine their own views or develop an interest where they
thought one did not exist are the meaningful rewards. Furthermore, all teachers
are also students and teaching allows me to continue to learn and face the
challenge of meeting the needs of each student. The approaches I use in
teaching also stimulate other facets of my professional life, such as research
and service.