I only started admiring the teaching profession after I entered college and began questioning the modes of instruction my professors used. I found there was something lacking in the way some of my professors taught and decided I could do better. Not that I criticized them, but by critiquing their methods, I found a passion in teaching and I will want to instill in my students the same curiosity about learning. I have had the opportunity to experience teaching and learning from two very disparate concepts, albeit with the same end goal. I am from a country where professors are very distinct from their students and have the last and usually only word. When I got here, I found a cordial teacher-student relationship, and a teaching system that was student oriented. This contrast gave me a consciousness on which I built my own concepts. My teaching philosophy is crafted on of my own personal experiences and my conscious appreciation of these concepts.

I come from sub-Saharan Africa where there is a diversity of culture per square mile of habitation. In my own country, cultural integration is encouraged very much in our educational system, so students from different religious and cultural background live and learn together. I learned other people’s cultures and appreciated their beliefs based on their background. When I moved to the United States, I found an even more multicultural society. I could fit in here largely because of my background and my respects for other people’s views. This consciousness has informed my adoption of the theory constructivism. We are all unique individuals and as we grow, we get to form our own perspectives and become more conscious of our belief systems. What backgrounds we are raised in, our emotional and psychological experiences shape our outlook of life and how we understand and apply information. As a teacher, I am conscious of this fact and aware that no two students will understand things the same way and tailor my teaching to meet these disparate needs. I will engage in constructive discussions with students like beginning a class with an opening questions to sort out students’ prior knowledge and beliefs on the subject matter. This will give me an opportunity to respond and teach appropriately and to reformulate negative constructs while still respecting students’ beliefs.

A teacher is required to facilitate students’ learning experience, so students can be knowledgeable in the subject matter and have the analytical and problem solving skills required to be successful in their careers. One way to achieve this is to use a student-centered and an outcomes-centered approach. A student-centered instructional method places emphasis on the student. Knowing the academic and career needs of my students and how the learn - whether by natural curiosity, through elaborate rehearsal, motivation or active engagement, will help me in the development of an appropriate course curriculum. A befitting curriculum which will not only address the knowledge base, but also lead to the acquisition of analytical skills to apply that knowledge, in line with John Dewey’s (1938) views. I believe in developing and instructing with a curriculum that is well defined that it spells out what is important to teach based on students’ needs, and how outcomes will be measure, and dynamic enough to incorporate real life scenarios and current  career demands.

I will adopt an outcomes-centered learning approach that will involve the design and delivery of course content that will develop the cognitive, psychomotor, affective and ethical abilities of the student. I will set measureable outcomes that involve contributions from both parties and assessed appropriately. Proven resources such as the Bloom’s Taxonomy are useful in the development of student outcomes. I will engage students in a constructive discussions to build their critical thinking skills. Students will then be able to identify problems, form plausible hypothesis, design appropriate solutions and make solid conclusions and recommendations based on the findings. Students will be engaged students in group assignments and discussions and express their understanding of concepts in exams. The concepts of scholars such as Halpern (1998, 1999), Facione (2013) and Paul and Elder (2013) especially are useful in this regard.

I find the use of learning management systems such as Canvas as a versatile and effective way of enhancing the teaching and learning process. I can post class announcements, lecture notes and resources, manage students’ grades, administer exams and give feedback to students on this platform. Students can submit assignments, get them graded and receive a feedback, and follow their academic progress. Canvas also serves as an ideal platform for students to engage in constructive group discussions. This augments the traditional classroom setting which fosters a direct teacher-student relationship. Classrooms allow teachers to engage in an in-person meeting with students and have the advantage of monitoring attendance, judging students’ understanding of concepts and even determine a student’s wellbeing. Such a personal relationship goes a long way to enhance the teaching and learning experience and I will use this in my own teaching career.

In terms of assessment of student learning outcomes, I will use essays, group assignments and project work. Essays measure integrative learning and give the student a chance to explain their understanding of concepts without having to reproduce verbatim memorized contents. An understanding of the concepts allows for application in a diverse real life scenario rather than the ideal textbook case. Group assignments encourages student’s involvement. Students contribute towards a common goal with their individual and diverse opinions. A diverse group puts together students with different cultural and religious beliefs and helps them know how learning can occur in spite of differences. Finally, I will test my student’s analytical and problem-solving skills by giving them real-life project work that involve identifying problems and designing effective solutions to them.