TEACHING PHILOSOPHY REFLECTIONS

I reviewed the teaching philosophies of Morgan, Paula and Delci.

What I liked about Paulas’ statement was that she addressed mutual respect. As a teacher, you must let your student know that you are not there because you have to be there, but you want to be there. It is important to let them know that you truly care about teaching and their learning.

Delci addressed humility. What do you do when your student asks you a question and you don’t know the answer? I think this is a great opportunity to teach your students that learning is forever. My answer would be “I don’t know, but tomorrow I will have your answer and I will be learning in the process.” This is a challenge of teaching, but for me, a challenge and an opportunity to learn. I don’t think of it as a failure but rather an opportunity. The student gains confidence at the same time.

Morgan talked about enthusiasm, and conveying that to students. If they see that the teacher is excited about what they are teaching, the student is more likely to be excited about what they are learning. I liked her strategies for obtaining feedback about her teaching. “One minute papers” is a great idea. Personally, I don’t like using evaluations at the end of the course. I like the idea of having evaluations throughout the course so that you can modify approaches to meet the needs of the current students and learn about the effectiveness of your teaching at the same time.

More about WHAT IS LEARNING?

One of the things I found interesting in our discussion is that it is difficult to separate learning and transfer. I do believe that initial learning must be mastered before transfer can occur. But, whatever we are learning, we are automatically transferring that to something we already know…sounds kind of philosophical.

The other thing I want to add to my “What is learning?” is that we also learn by questioning. Kimi had a statement in her paper that I liked. In Science, learning through research leads us to new questions and their answers will lead us to new questions.

In How Students Learn, I liked the Frog study (Box 9-3). There was an experiment, an interpretation, and a conclusion. But, then we must ask questions about the conclusion, the study design, and the validity of the conclusions. I think I can use this in my classroom. Everything is not black and white. We must always ask questions after our conclusions are determined.

WHAT IS LEARNING?

Learning means acquiring new knowledge, understanding, changes in thinking, skills, methods, attitudes, interests, values and connections.

I think we are constantly learning, starting at birth, through our observations and thought. I think learning is a progression. Learning occurs when we reflect on an idea or concept and attach it to our current knowledge. We first must make sense of what we observe, and then based on past understanding, associate it with some meaning. We take external facts and incorporate them into our own personal pattern of understanding.

In a given subject, learning begins with memorization and a quantitative increase in knowledge. These need to be retained and applied to future learning. We will need to make sense of these facts and relate them to other subject matter, to fully interpret, comprehend, and possibly reinterpret as we gain more knowledge.

Markwell and Courtney

What stuck out for me in this reading is:

…Consider the difference between the student who asks “Will this be on the test?” and the student who challenges your presentation on how functional domains within proteins tend to be conserved during evolution because they don’t believe in evolution….

In my limited teaching experience, it was the students that challenged me that were the most fun to teach. I think it is easy to “give up” on the students who just learn to pass the test. Now, I will challenge myself to try to get the latter students excited about learning for the sake of learning. I hope this course will help me do that.

Chapter 8: Key points that interested me:

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•       We must be aware of our students’ backgrounds because this will have an impact on the effectiveness of our teaching.
•       We, as teachers, need to accept the responsibility for the learning of our students.
•        All science courses should be seen as an opportunity to influence thinking and scientific knowledge, even though some students that take science courses because of a requirement may not be pursuing a science degree.
•       Learning students’ names helps enhance their self-esteem.
•       Resources (e.g., tutoring) should be offered and encouraged. Seeking these resources should not be viewed as signs of weakness or inability. We should create that environment for our students.
•       Students differ in how they learn and study, and we need to try to see those differing characteristics in our students.

Statement of Teaching Philosophy – Jody R Thompson (first draft)

My first experience with teaching was coaching gymnastics.  This type of teaching involves both verbal instruction as well as demonstration of techniques.  I taught very young children, and felt very rewarded when these children learned new "tricks." At a new session, I had two new students, who were both deaf.  Suddenly, I had to develop a new way to teach them.  These children had sign language skills, but I did not. So, I taught only by demonstration and visual cues.  These young children turned out to be two of my very best gymnasts. This was an incredibly enlightening and rewarding experience.

When I got to college, I was no longer able to coach.  This is when I really began to learn. High school was very easy, and I did not have to develop learning skills.  College was a different story.  My techniques included attending every lecture and taking notes vigorously without learning within the classroom.  I took my notes and my text books home, and that’s where I learned.  I learned by reading and taking notes from the textbook, rewriting the lecture notes, drawing pictures and diagrams, and preparing note cards. I never took advantage of tutoring or study groups, because I didn’t know they existed. My techniques were very successful for me.  I thought all students learned this way. When students were not doing well, I assumed this was because they were lazy and did not study.

My eyes were opened when I began teaching medical laboratory science students. I was recruited to teach, and thought it might be fun. I learned that not everyone learns the way I do, and I had a lot to learn about teaching.

Goals for Student learning:

I believe that to truly learn science, students must understand fully, the principle concepts of science; observing, thinking, creating a hypothesis, experimenting, interpreting data and, finally, validating. These are skills that are not only required in the sciences, but also throughout life in the real world, whether or not the student chooses a career in science.

Methods to reach my goals:

I believe my goals can only partially be accomplished through traditional lecture-based teaching methods.  Initially, expectations should be stated clearly. Students must first learn the facts. Here, the didactic format can be utilized. Lectures must be structured and well-organized. Once they learn the facts, they must be able to apply those facts to observing, creating hypotheses, experimenting, interpretation and coming to a conclusion. As a science teacher, I must understand my students’ names, backgrounds, interests, learning methods, and study methods. I will use a variety of teaching strategies because students learn differently. These might include visual aids, diagrams, drawings, small group work, interactive discussions, experiments, and presentations. I think that using examples to help illustrate concepts is very helpful.

One example that I have used is the discovery of penicillin. Returning from a vacation in 1928, Alexander Fleming, Professor of Bacteriology at St. Mary's Hospital in London, began to sort through petri dishes containing colonies of Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria that causes boils, abscesses, and impetigo. He observed that one of the dishes was dotted with bacterial colonies, except for one area where there was a blob of mold growing.  The mold was later identified as a Penicillium species. He hypothesized that the mold was a secreting a substance that inhibited the bacterial growth. He experimented with the “mold juice” and concluded that it was capable of killing several harmful bacterial species. He published his findings in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology in June 1929, with a comment about penicillin’s potential therapeutic benefits. You know the rest of the story.

The complexity of assignments should increase gradually throughout the course. I want to assign projects that could be worked on in small groups. Discussions will be held to allow students to express their own ideas, and allow them to see other’s perspectives.

I must be available for extra help. This means scheduling “open hours” where students can come in for help. This is another way to assess whether I am teaching effectively. Study groups will be encouraged. Tutorial services and other resources will be offered.

Assessment of student learning:

Not all students perform well on all types of testing methods. I would like to use different styles of testing throughout the course. Students must be made aware of the planned testing format. There should be no surprises. Initially, I will create tests composed of multiple choice, short answer, and short essays. There will be assignments that resemble testing formats. As we progress through the course, the tests will require the student to apply knowledge in solving problems. 

Creating a learning environment:

I would like to provide a supportive, non-threatening, fun and open atmosphere in my classroom. There should be structure, but also, an environment that promotes discussion and conversation. There will be no sleeping in my class. I am not interested in standing up front lecturing, but rather moving around, or being in a central location. I want learning to be fun. There can be humor in the classroom without chaos.

I want to be able to inspire my students to enjoy learning.