Reflective Statement

The goal of my teaching is to provide students with tools to improve their lives, and the world.

One of the major influences of my teaching philosophy is the fact that technology is constantly evolving. Many books are outdated the day they are published. This has influenced my teaching philosophy and practice in several ways. First, as much as possible, I focus on overall concepts, not just the current method of implementation. Second, I supplement textbook material with more current information (see Section C, Innovative Instruction Techniques – CGS 2260 & CNT 1000). Lastly, in addition to teaching about certain topics or how to do something, when possible, I teach strategies students can take to learn more about certain topics or how to find out how to do something.

Strategies and techniques common to my courses:

I use course management software to supplement instruction and provide course structure. I have trained extensively on the front and back end of the WebCT system and know how to take advantage of the many benefits its course tools offer.

Each chapter or major topic is grouped in a WebCT Learning Module. The learning modules include resources for the students and their assignments.

Resources include a combination of materials created by the publisher, external sources, and myself, including PowerPoint presentations, web links, demonstration videos, and more.

One of the assignments in each module in each course is 30‐40 multiple choice, matching, or short answer questions utilizing the WebCT Assessment tool. The questions are not timed so students can spend as much time answering them as they would like. They are basically designed to ensure that the students spend some time with the material. As soon as students submit the questions they are graded and students can see which questions they got right and wrong. I have added custom feedback to some of the trickier questions. In some classes I let the students complete the questions two times and their grade is the average of the two submissions. This encourages them to closely review what they got right and wrong and rewards them for following up.

For classes that meet in‐person, questions are due before the class in which we discuss the material. I believe students get more out of class meetings when they come into them having already spent some time on the topic. This allows me to repeat and help clarify topics rather than introduce them. This also allows me to run a report based on the submitted questions to see which ones were answered incorrectly by the highest percentage of the students. This lets me know which topics to spend the most time on in class (see Sample Question Report in Section C).

I emphasize effective Internet search techniques and web site evaluations in all classes.

My philosophy with the networking and hardware courses is to do as many hands‐on activities as possible. Anyone anywhere can read a textbook and answer questions. The real value to the students in these courses is the availability of a lab, along with the guidance of an experienced instructor, so they can learn by doing. I present some broad concepts and the goal of an activity but purposely don’t offer step by step details. I like to see how the students go about figuring out what to do. If or when they need me to, I step in and provide them with hints or direct assistance.

My philosophy with programming classes is that I am not expecting all of the students to go on to be full‐time professional Visual Basic or C++ programmers. Without a doubt, however, some of them will go on to do some sort of programming in the future. In addition, 100% of them will need to use problem solving skills, creative thinking, and research techniques. For these reasons, I am most concerned with those aspects of the course.

Some curricular revisions I have made in the last year:

In the introduction to C++ course, I have started using a new textbook that uses games and graphics to introduce programming concepts. The students are learning the same material but they are learning it in a way that is much more interesting for them. The response from students has been very good.

In the software and hardware course, in response to a new CompTIA A+ certification test, I switched to a newer textbook that addresses the new exam objectives. The new exam focuses more on Windows Vista and on laptops so I have infused those topics more heavily in the course. I also have the students use and teach them Windows 7, even though it is not on the certification test, because it is important for them to know. Although preparing the students to pass the certification test is a goal of the course, teaching them skills that will benefit them in life and help them get a job or advance their careers is more important. I also added a weekly quiz to that course to encourage them to spend extra time studying key concepts.