Teaching Philosophy

Teaching Philosophy

Brandon Chiasera

My approach to teaching involves both traditional and non-traditional instruction. To provide a solid foundation with which to learn a topic, elementary information must be provided to the student. Beyond this, application of the elementary knowledge by the student within an inquiry based scaffold allows for effective learning of the subject. While non-traditional instruction to communicate elementary principles may occur within each lesson, the scaffolding approach spans the entire course to develop broader and more complex understanding of the subject. Within the geological introductory labs that I have taught, I developed a capstone exercise to teach about the subject of economic geology. In this exercise, I incorporated elements from many of the previous labs such as map reading, mineral/rock identification, and groundwater hydrology to create a synthetic field site in which the students were instructed to identify the most economically viable location to mine for a specific ore. This exercise also aided in connecting the topics learned in lab to real world applications, fostering a sense of interest in the students.

From my experience in teaching physical science to non-majors, I have realized that a significant barrier to learning exists when a student does not have an interest in the subject. To overcome this barrier, I attempt to make personal connections between students and specific subjects or the course at large. When a student realizes that physical science exists in aspects of their life outside of the class, they become more interested and engaged in learning. An example of this pertains to a semester long assignment in which students were to design their own experiments to explore a hypothesis that they developed. Being non-science majors, many students felt they needed to create a project that needed to be similar to lab exercises or else it would not have enough scientific merit to earn a good grade. My approach to these students was to first ask what their interests were outside of class, such as personal hobbies or what their chosen major was. I would then guide them to think about something within that topic that they are curious about or they would like to improve. Once this was established, a testable hypothesis could easily be created by asking the student what tests they could perform to answer their question or make improvements. At this point the student was then guided to perform the tasks and record the results, to which they had a completed project. As the specific subject of inquiry was one the student chose and had interest in, they became more invested in the assignment. I did find it extraordinarily satisfying to see students who had only talked with their groups about what was on TV the night before suddenly begin talking about their project and seeking input from their group members.

Developing non-traditional exercises on subjects that may not be of interest to students or they may not have previous experience with helps to eliminate barriers to learning such as disinterest. To teach about the topic of how to critically read a scientific paper, I developed an exercise in which students would first critically watch a movie they may be previously familiar with. A guided set of inquires the students was developed for the students to use while watching the movie that is parallel to the inquiry that should be developed while reading a paper. While watching the movie and going through the inquiry, the students could then develop the thought processes necessary to critically evaluate the movie rather than just consuming the content for entertainment while being in a low stress, fun environment. The lines of inquiry were then modified to be specific to a scientific publication and presented to the students with a sample publication. After previously working with the lines of inquiry and developing the thought processes necessary, the students found it much easier to critically read the scientific publication even if it was not on a subject they were familiar with.

It is imperative to develop an environment of inclusiveness and cooperation within the classroom. Barriers to learning and communication may exist if a student does not feel like they are part of a class or are afraid or apprehensive about taking a class in a certain subject. By creating collaborative assignments involving group work (such as think-pair-share exercises), individual students can understand that they may not be alone in having fears and will begin to feel that their input and knowledge in valuable in completing a group task. I ultimately work to develop an environment of peer learning within groups of students as they may better be able to address barriers to learning and misconceptions which may not be readily apparent to me.

While summative assessment, such as homework assignments and exams, may be necessary to provide a grade in a classroom environment, I believe that assessment is a continuous process throughout the class. Not only does continuous assessment provide a formative measure of the students’ understanding of a concept and their attentiveness, it also provides a measure of my effectiveness in teaching and conveying ideas and information. Simple actions such as asking a student a question about what is being taught can be an effective, continuous assessment tool. Such questions should not necessarily be asked to seek the correct answer, but rather probe the students’ thought processes at arriving at an answer. Not providing the correct answer to the student, but instead asking “why do you think that?”, or “how did you arrive that that conclusion?” allows the instructor to identify logical thought processes of the student. In this way, I can assess if my instruction has been effective and identify any misconceptions that may exist before they become systemic.

I believe that some of the best instruction and learning in the geosciences comes from field excursions and exercises in combination with classroom instruction. This not only serves as a capstone to scaffolding instructions, but also fosters a sense of interest and adventure in the students’. However, since I have begun my career as a geosciences student, I have seen a progressive trend away from providing a field experience to the students’. Most often, this arises from logistical, budgetary or safety concerns, and creates barrier to the students’ learning by reducing hands-on instruction. In such cases, I believe that technology may be able to assist. As part of a mentored teaching exercise, I created a virtual field trip for students. The purpose of the exercise was to teach about proper field note taking practices. This knowledge is invaluable for any student that wishes to remain in the geosciences field after graduation. This instruction is also extremely valuable to the student if they are to participate in a capstone field camp prior to graduation. In the exercise I developed, I provided traditional instruction, with real world examples to students on how to take proper field notes. After this traditional instruction, students were able to use their own cell phones, in conjunction with low-cost Google cardboard devices, to virtually visit a field site. This field site was previously chosen by me at a location on Google Maps where a 360° Street View photograph existed. In this way, the students could “visit” a site in the US Southwest that displayed an excellent example of a classic geologic feature. The virtual experience gave the students a sense of scale, but also a sense of direction that does not come from a photograph or computer image. The students were instructed to make field notes as if this virtual location were a stop on a real field trip. Hand samples of the same type rock were also provided to students in the classroom to create a tactile connection to the virtual site, as well as allowing for close inspection, identification, and note taking of the rock represented in the Street View image. Brunton transits were provided to the students, and as the Google cardboard devices allowed for similar orientation as the original image, the students could effectively measure the strike of the features they were seeing virtually. This allowed for the students to generate reasonable interpretations of the site, including depositional environment. While this exercise was primarily designed to overcome a logistical and cost barrier, it could easily be implemented to provide field instruction to students with physical barriers to participating in field exercises.

I believe in equality in science. From my research collaboration with a diverse group of scientists from many nationalities and backgrounds, I have come to realize that scientists have the ability to work across their diversity to share information, collaborate, and make new discoveries that would not be possible in isolation from one another. This belief extends to the classroom. I believe that any student can become a scientist. To achieve this, a sense of equality is important in the classroom. Through making sure all students have a say and input in group activities, students quickly realize that some of the most interesting ideas and breakthroughs can come from students that may have different backgrounds than themselves. To achieve this equal standing within the classroom, attempts must be made to achieve equity among all students. A student that may come from a background where they were not exposed to science may feel like they are not on equal footing with others. In instances like this, I have found that fostering a sense of interest in the subject, much like my earlier example, brings the student to the table to participate and offer their input within group exercises. Students that may be differently-abled can achieve a sense of equity with the virtual field trip exercise that I designed earlier. Students who may not have a strong background in mathematics or science in their previous education may need additional instruction and encouragement outside of the classroom. Attention and effort must be provided to students in this case to achieve equity and ultimately equality in the classroom. I am personally fulfilled and always impressed when a student from a more diverse background achieves equal footing with others in the classroom from these actions. It is always a wonderful surprise to see how their input to a group can generate ideas that may be “outside of the box” and how the other students positively respond to this, furthering encouragement and equity.

Through these teaching practices, it is possible to meet several levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. While we do not have much control over the basic needs of an individual, such as physiological needs, safety needs can be met by teaching in a safe classroom and following safety procedures during field trips if possible. Creating equity to achieve equality among students helps achieve the more psychological needs of the individual student by generating a sense of belongingness in the class, and when the student begins participating in group exercises as a result of this, the student can achieve a sense of esteem among their peers. With efforts to meet these levels of needs through teaching practices, the top level of the hierarchy of needs can then be explored by the student. The student can then begin to meet their self-actualization needs through inquiry, exploration, and innovation. With multiple levels of the hierarchy of needs being met in the classroom, the student can then leave the class with a sense of fulfillment and achievement, fostering a sense of lifelong learning beyond the class.