Teaching Philosophy

My thinking regarding teaching has evolved greatly since I began teaching in 2005. In the beginning my focus was on the subject matter (subject-centered: what is being taught is soil science; what is most important is the material covered). Very quickly my focus changed more towards myself as the teacher (teacher-centered: I am teaching soil science; what is most important is how I teach the material). Only in the last few years did my focus shift to the students themselves (student-centered: students are learning soil science; what is most important is that I help students actively engage in their own learning). However, I have recently come to a realization that there is no center at all, the three (subject, teacher, and student) are inextricably entwined with one another: students and teachers actively work together with the material to come to a collective understanding about the subject. The subject matter, teacher, and students all contribute to the learning environment, and thus are all important considerations when teaching.

I have come to this realization partly through a lens of social constructivism and partly through a lens of systems thinking. It is the latter that has led me to view teaching as a cyclical process that begins during the design phase before the first student ever walks through the classroom door. The process begins by identifying and defining measurable learning goals and designing assessments that measure attainment of these goals. These assessments ideally include pre-assessments (e.g. assessing students’ prior knowledge), formative assessments, and summative assessments. The design phase continues by planning instructional strategies and learning experiences around the learning goals. During the implementation phase (i.e. teaching), the use of formative assessments can help both myself and students understand how well they are meeting learning goals prior to the higher-stakes summative assessments. These types of assessments can also be used to help me make changes to the way I’m teaching during the class if it becomes clear that learning goals aren’t being met. Finally, during the revision phase (post-course) I use all available sources of information (formative and summative assessments, student evaluations, my own observations, etc.) to reflect on the course and make changes during the next design phase as needed.

Throughout this process I think it is important to consider not just the subject matter I will be teaching but also myself as a teacher and the students who will be taking the class. Thus, the subject matter dictates (for the most part) what the learning goals will be, but the assessments, instructional strategies, and learning experiences are designed with students in mind. Firstly in considering research-based principles on how people learn, and secondly considering that in any given course the student population is likely to be diverse, spanning a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. I believe strongly that assessments and the learning environment should, to the extent possible, account for this variability. For example, I think that multiple and varied assessment types are better than a few high stakes exams. In addition, one research-based principle I think is particularly important is that active learning is more effective than passive learning. Thus, I try and employ a variety of methods to encourage discussion and interaction amongst students (e.g. think-pair-share, small group discussions, guided inquiry, student teaching, etc.). I do not discount the value of lecture; rather, I believe that instead of presenting ourselves as authority figures transferring information to students (that they could just as easily read in a book) we should bring our expertise and interests to the forefront by relating learned information to our own experiences and to the world around us. When a lecture becomes personal and relevant it is more likely to engage students and enhance their learning. I believe that it is of utmost importance to help students recognize the value in any subject they are learning because this can contribute to their intrinsic motivation to learn and thus can do more for their learning than externally imposed motivation such as grades.