The words of Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali polymath and Nobel Literature winner in 1861, ring as true today as they did when he first stated that a child's learning should not be limited by your own knowledge. As a lifelong learner, I want to instill the same love of knowledge and information in my students. My philosophy of teaching is based on a belief that learning needs to be student centered and that students need to be equal partners in the learning process. My role as content expert is to put the necessary resources in the hands of the students and to ensure they are well equipped to find and evaluate resources they need to answer their questions. This empowers students to take ownership of their education and help them realize that they are responsible for their learning outcomes.
As an online teacher and with the demand of new literacies, I am constantly evaluating and re-evaluating my methods of instruction. I critically examine and re-examine my teaching philosophies as the environments in which teaching and learning become increasingly diverse and varied. Alvin Toffler, futurist, and author of the classic Future Shock put it best, when he said:
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Regardless of content, I also think students should leave their courses with skills they will use in their everyday lives. These basic skills include problem solving and critical thinking, research and writing proficiency, and effective communication ability. I have designed all of my courses to include components that impart these skills.
My goals as an online instructor include:
* Challenge my students’ thinking and foster active, constructive participation in learning * Provide a good role model for active participation and interact frequently with my students to create a sense of learning community * Recognize different student learning styles, monitor student progress, identify lagging students, and help them minimize their procrastination through appropriate monitoring and encouragement * Assess students’ messages in online discussions to encourage their participation and help improve the quality of discussion * Use appropriate teaching strategies to support, guide, and motivate my students to learn actively in the online environment * Provide timely, quality, and appropriate feedback to support and facilitate students’ learning process * Provide support and guidance to encourage my students to become self regulated learners * Conduct course evaluation during teaching and use the evaluation data to improve my teaching or for future course improvement.
I chose an academic career because I want to contribute to society by training top-rate students. There is no single perfect method for teaching, and an important aspect of teaching seems to be identifying the approach which works best for a given individual. While I believe my teaching has been successful, I also recognize that I have much to learn from my colleagues, as well as my students.