Teaching Philosophy
As an educator, my teaching philosophy centers around creating an explorative environment which promotes realistic and meaningful learning in an application-based curriculum. I believe that the most effective learning occurs when students have the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge without fear of failure, instead of rehearsing for an evaluation. Therefore, my goal is to place students in relevant communications settings with coursework which facilitates situational learning.
Two examples of this coursework include, but are not limited to:
COMM102: Managing Conflict Presentation
Students are tasked with defining conflict, discussing the methods of acknowledging and handling conflict and applying their knowledge to three real-life scenarios they might experience based on their future career. This portfolio piece also provides students with the opportunity to provide tangible evidence to a future employer to showcase their knowledge.
COMM101: News Reporter for a Day
Public Speaking, often coined as the number one fear of humans, remains a powerful skill set in the professional world. Therefore, it's imperative that students have the knowledge and capabilities to absorb, organize and present cohesive, accurate and genuine information to their peers, colleagues and superiors. In the informative speech "News Reporter for a Day" students are partnered with one of their peers and tasked with reporting on real-life topics they consider newsworthy. While the topic does not have to be current (i.e. historical topics are acceptable) they must be informative and the sources used must be relevant, accurate and updated. Additionally, while the paired students are not required to have complimentary topics, they must be able to use appropriate transitions between topics similarly to that of a real newscast. This presentation provides students the opportunity to gain collaborative skills, while also learning to research, strategize and report information in an accurate, authentic and informative manner for their audience. This correlates to the professional world as, regardless of career path, one must be able to successfully communicate ideas, collaborate with colleagues and accurately present information.
To achieve this philosophy, my classroom is structured with lecture-based teaching and filled with diverse hands-on activities including discussions, case studies, role-play scenarios, small groups, and games. Educational content is developed based on settings applicable to student's future careers or possible life situations, where learners can integrate their gained knowledge into a useful framework and emotionally connect with the learning process. In addition to my philosophy, I believe that education should also be adaptive.
Throughout my courses, I seek continuous feedback from my students and regularly invite them to evaluate the coursework, assignments and their experience within my classroom through surveys and an open-door policy. Additionally, to ensure students achieve both course-specific objectives and fulfillment to their unique needs and preferences, students are encouraged to use their definition of creativity when preparing and/or presenting their course content. Based on the different learning, listening and communication styles, this method allows students to select opportunities which both challenge and elevate their learning to ensure both a positive and prepared outcome.