Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Lena Ogrokhina

University of Houston

oogrokhina2@uh.edu

I believe that independently of any circumstances there is a single principle that holds true for teaching; practice makes perfect. There is no substitute for experience. Passion for the subject does not make up for lack of experience. At the end of every course that I teach, I write down reflections on how I can improve my teaching skills and the content of the course for the future.

I continually strive to improve my teaching skills by attending, as well as, organizing workshops on effective teaching practices. They cover general topics including Student Motivation, Assessment Design, and Engagement as well as more sensitive topics such as Effective Feedback, Managing Conflict and Error Correction.

Two years of teaching experience has helped me established the guidelines that I follow. Of course undergraduate and graduate courses require different approaches; the same is true of introductory and upper level courses. However, some major concepts are relevant to all of them.

1. Clearly state the objectives, requirements and expectations of the course.

2. Base my lectures on reproducing the material in multiple ways to address the broad audience.

3. Make relevant and interesting connections between theoretical concepts and real-life examples.

4. Assign tasks that not only hone writing skills, but improve comprehension of the subject by confronting strengths and weaknesses of their work.

5. Introduce basic research to undergraduates.

6. Encourage better learning skills.

Many students do not realize that taking Economics can give them a deeper understanding of the world, and it is always very rewarding to see the excitement when they suddenly realize why current real interest rates are negative, or that austerity might not fix the Greek and Spanish problems. Economics is amazing in the respect that you can always find something relevant for each student, something that will trigger their interest. When teaching introductory courses many students that attend are not majoring in economics. The variety of backgrounds and majors that students bring to classes make for exciting discussions, with basic assumptions always questioned. Fostering and guiding these discussions allows the students to view the fundamentals under a different light.

Demonstrating the practical real life applicability of economic concepts is always important and helps students really “get” it. This is especially important when teaching more complicated, intermediate and higher level courses. Some students get overwhelmed by models and mathematical derivations, losing sight of the primary objectives. My antidote for this is to always prepare relevant articles from The Economist, Financial Times, New York Times or Wall Street Journal as well as blog posts from prominent economists. I want to give the students that are hungry to learn plenty of opportunity to do so.

As the concepts that we cover become more complex in intermediate classes I not only present the material from several different angles, but use various teaching approaches that target different learning styles in order to make the material clear to all the students. I always start with an explanation of the basics of a concept or model. I repeat those basics using graphs and figures, derive the model using quantitative methods, and I finish with a classroom discussion where the students come up with relevant examples. These different methods help the students to connect the concepts they just learned to real world examples and their own unique experiences. This way I can not only capture the attention of more students as they all respond to different triggers, but also etch the material into their minds more effectively.

One of my primary goals is to encourage critical and independent thinking by giving my students writing assignments. Writing gives them a chance to not only develop and express their thoughts but also to refine them and see the strengths and weaknesses of their views.

Being able to communicate one’s thoughts in clear and comprehensive manner is an essential skill. I do not let my students hide behind the claim that content matters and style does not. It is almost impossible to find good content in a badly written paper. In order to sharpen their writing skills, I provide my students with instructions and guidelines that include examples demonstrating proper writing techniques. These resources serve them well not only in my classes but their academic career, and beyond. I cherish the sense of fulfillment when students report improved grades in other classes from the skills they learned in mine.

When designing homework I use open questions that require critical thinking as well as explanation and application of concepts that we have covered. I refrain from multiple choice questions whenever possible as they encourage guessing. I also require students to work with real data that they collect from WorldBank, IFS or EuroStat to address economic questions that interest them. This way at the very least they can learn basic research skills, but ideally this will foster cooperation between students and faculty research.

Attending conferences and being actively involved in my own research gives me the opportunity to continually present the material in a new and fresh way. This is especially important for the graduate level courses since graduate students often get more inspiration from relevant cutting-edge research that applies new approaches and follows new directions.

My goal with each student is that they not only learn about economics but they learn how to think critically and educate themselves beyond minimum expectations. I structure my classes so that my students do not have to cram but rather are constantly learning throughout the course. For example, one of the ways I encourage classroom discussion is by providing credit for class participation. This requires the students to be informed and up to date with the course material as well as ancillary sources. In the study resources that I provide to my students I also incorporate an assortment of learning aids that help them improve their time management skills, writing abilities, exam preparation, as well as how to effectively read academic articles.

The biggest challenge I have faced so far is the struggle some students face when following and applying quantitative methods. They immediately get intimidated and discouraged as their progress stalls. I have tried to address this problem by giving a math assessment test in the beginning of the semester so the students can realistically evaluate their skills against what is required for the course. I encourage those that perform below average to utilize the free economics and math tutoring services available at the University of Houston, as well as my office hours and appointments before they fall behind.

Of course good teaching skills comes with experience and I look forward to the new challenges and learning opportunities that life brings. One cannot just read a book on how to teach and achieve excellence on the first go.

Teaching has really helped me learn as much or more than my students. During every lecture, when addressing the questions and concerns that my students raise, I have to challenge the fundamental assumptions of economics. I have become comfortable presenting in front of large audiences, which has greatly improved the presentations I have done for the department workshops as well as conferences outside of the University. My ability to explain and express myself in a clear and concise manner has grown. This allows me to more effectively reach a broader audience. These skills can be acquired only with practice and I am very grateful I have been provided the opportunity to teach so many classes. As much as teaching has given me, my ultimate goal is to not only teach my students economics but teach them how to learn.