Teaching philosophy

Teaching is a combination of art and science. It is largely context-dependent, and thus, it is not an easy task to articulate a teaching philosophy that can endure and adapt to various teaching contexts. However, I would like to list four principles that I regard essential to my teaching, regardless of context and subject matter.

The first principle is that the class should be engaging. If the class is not fun, students easily get bored, lose motivation, and they shut their eyes and ears to the material that is presented, regardless of its value. Moreover, some of them simply stop coming to class. If the class is engaging, they attend class, and are more likely to make efforts to learn along with their classmates.

Merely having fun, of course, is not enough. My second principle is that it is crucial to make sure that students are learning. I believe in both the transmission and transformation of knowledge; That is, the classroom is not only a place where teachers teach content matter but also where students reflect on their own knowledge and experience. Furthermore, I regard it equally essential for teachers to provide students with opportunities to reflect on their own performance in order for them to feel their progress.

Next, I believe the classroom is a small community. Therefore, as the third principle, I reckon it important to establish a strong rapport between teachers and students as well as among students. Following this belief, I constantly use a variety of pair and group activities while changing the pairing or grouping of students in order to provide them with the opportunity to interact with different classmates each time. In addition, I always endeavor to make friends with each of my students in every class that I teach.

Lastly, I deem that class time should be spent only for the things that can be done in the class where other classmates are around. In other words, things that can be done individually at home or CALL rooms should be done outside the class. This of course needs to be compromised from time to time in reality, but keeping this mind will provide me with another perspective to rethink how I should organize each class.

Having stated these beliefs, I admit that it is easier said than done. Teaching is a never-ending journey; there is no definite answer. Teachers need to adjust themselves to best meet the needs of their current class and students, but I believe that is the most exciting part of teaching. My journey goes on.

Finally, you can watch some of my short teaching video clips here: https://www.msu.edu/~amb/vault/VAULTT.html