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Description
Description
With more than 3000 educational institutions in the US, it would behoove me to understand the differences and commonalities among them. All these institutions can be classified according to size, degree completion duration, and disciplines. Although institutional categories have similarities as high education organization, they primarily differ in defining their vision and mission. Each institution articulates its own vision statement where it explicitly specifies the ultimate educational goals for students. In the vision statement also, each institution specifies faculty duties that subserve the institutional goals. Understanding the differences among institutions and perusing their vision statements is pivotal to determine which arena will fit my needs and capabilities. The institution should perceive my competence to work in harmony within its holistic vision and mission and achieve its goals. Moreover, I should bear in mind the departmental and school-level context. Collectively, institutional, school, and departmental goals align together to accomplish the institutional mission. Understanding this will help me define which venue suits my assets.
Workshops and artifacts
Workshops and artifacts
Certification in College Teaching Institute (CCTI)
Certification in College Teaching Institute (CCTI)
On the first day of the workshop, we learned about the different categories of higher education institutions. The central benefit I gained is how to consider those differences when applying for faculty positions. Importantly, the classification of higher education institutions is broad, and each category is not exclusive to one another. For example, in high-research activity universities, teaching duties are still required, and a well-written teaching philosophy statement is part of the application. Furthermore, the key interactive activity we conducted in the workshop was to analyze and evaluate some organizational mission and vision statements. The main objective of this collaborative activity was to reflect on those statements and pinpoint further questions that are not addressed in the statements. By reading different institutional statements, I could discern the differences between educational institutions and the role and responsibilities of teaching faculties. Before applying for a teaching position and writing my teaching philosophy statement, I will examine the institutional vision and mission to ensure that my needs and assets accord with them.
Introduction to Evidence-Based undergraduate STEM Teaching
Introduction to Evidence-Based undergraduate STEM Teaching
One lesson in this MOOC was about the importance of institutional and departmental context in designing courses and defining learning goals. Consulting other faculty is salient to benefit from their expertise, especially when my course is a continuation of prior courses or pertinent to a certain certification. The feedback and support of senior faculty will be particularly important for my nascent post-PhD teaching career. Moreover, learning goals should be aligned among faculty to ensure that students will receive harmonious teaching strategies. Needless to say that conflicting teaching strategies exact a toll on students' learning and experience in the classroom.
Intro to Teaching at a Community College
Intro to Teaching at a Community College
This workshop is part of a series “Exploring careers in teaching at a community college” offered by CIRTL. Admittedly, I have not decided whether I will pursue a teaching career in a community college, yet I wanted to envision what it would be like to be a faculty member there. I had this irreplaceable opportunity to hear from a wide range of faculty who have been teaching in community colleges for years. They shared with us a deeper and more realistic viewpoint about the expectations of faculty and students. Furthermore, the faculty soundly delineated the difference in regard to teaching between a reserach university and a community college. The information I gained during this workshop is tremendously helpful in determining the future step of my career.
Reflection
Reflection
I daresay that I never reflected on the importance of university or institutional context in shaping my teaching philosophy. Indeed, I solely focused on elaborating my pedagogical beliefs, teaching style, and goals, neglecting how that should be integrated into a certain institutional context. Thanks to the workshops and talks I attended, I now realize that my teaching goals and beliefs should conform to institutional mission and vision before applying. This can be achieved by talking to other faculty in the institution and perusing vision and mission statements. For instance, if I am applying to a faculty position in research institutions (R1), I should be wary in formulating my pedagogical strategies and that they are applicable to large-size classes.
Importantly, like others, I was misguided by the misconception of “Teaching in community college means no research.” In CIRTL workshops, this fallacious belief was debunked through the experience of faculty who themselves teach in community colleges. That was momentous because previously I thought that, in community colleges, teaching and conducting research are mutually exclusive. Rather, community colleges offer conducive environment to conducting experimental research besides teaching. Furthermore, community colleges support educational research. By conducting educational research, my pedagogical skills will be consistently growing, and my strategies will be evidence based.
Clearly, teaching is not a solo activity, as I mistakenly thought. Instead, this pursuit requires cohesive intertwined efforts among the institution, faculty, and students. Accordingly, the institutional context is an inextricable component of my teaching philosophy and job search strategy.
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