In order identify solutions for a lot of issues that we face in the information technology arena I pride myself in becoming a researcher and an educator. This platform gives me access to address those issues and challenges that were rarely being discussed. As a researcher, I’ve studied closely those issues and challenges and provided solutions that will assist with making improvements. The reason why I became an educator is to teach and give students the platform to have a voice, the platform to change the wrong, and a platform to make noticeable changes.
My teaching philosophy has been shaped by my experience as a student, as an instructor, as well as working in the technology field for a decade must mostly as a student. Throughout my experience as a student, I’ve had instructors who loved what they taught. That passion was delivered in their teaching style which resulted in their course passing rate being high. My goal is to set my students up for success at the beginning. By understanding that students have other classes and understanding their learning styles I was able realize that students are more engaged when lessons are interactive and associated with real world examples. Students are less likely to understand when instructors simply read off slides and are unable to make the information relatable. Lab assignments, breakout groups, and case study open discussions are the methods that I utilize to get my students engaged. These methods can be used in-person and virtually.
Over the past few years I’ve had the opportunity to implement my teaching philosophy in the 4 courses that I’ve taught at Towson University. For my lecture slides, I’ve developed closed caption notes and alt text to be utilized for my students who may have screen readers. On lecture days, when introducing a new chapter I always open up with an opening case study that is a real world example that relates to the material within that lecture that we’re about to cover. On lab days, I walk the students step-by-step on how to complete the lab. Depending on the application used I may show them alternative way on how to complete a step that does not exist within the lab instructions. For breakout groups, I deliver the instructions and topic for the breakout group within the first 10 minutes of the class period. The students are given 25 minutes to discuss the topic within their group. After the 25 minutes is up, the students return to discuss their responses openly with the rest of the class.
Students find it hard to obtain jobs due to not having real world experiences. My objective for any course that I teach, is to bring the real world experience into the classroom by making the content relevant, and connecting the students to the topic at hand. I provide progress updates to my students throughout the course when I see that their grades are declining and inform them on what needs to be done in order for them to pass the course. This will drive down the failure rate for the course. I’ve advised my students outside of class hours on how to structure their resumes for internships and professional employment to display how their projects and lab assignments can be tailored as real world experience.
Teaching is extremely important to me. Without having the ability to learn from experts in the field, it restricts students from truly understanding what happens in the real world. This is the bridge that I represent. I am an active working professional who is evolving day by day within the technology realm, and an educator to develop and/or revise exist curriculum to make it real, engaging, and interesting.