Teaching Philosophy
My primary objective as a teacher is for students to leave my classroom equipped with practical and transferrable skills to be 1) critical thinkers, 2) collaborative problem solvers, and 3) life-long learners. My teaching philosophy recognizes these goals are more fully advanced through an active community approach that is grounded in a shared commitment to learning. Learning is an interactive and intentional exchange that occurs in a safe, supportive environment which supports mutual responsibility of participants for learning to occur – learners from teachers, teachers from learners, and learners from learners. It is my belief that the above skills are best cultivated within an inclusive, connected community.
For me, developing a connected learning community requires authenticity, a supportive environment, and a recognition of difference in thought, perspective, and experience. My position recognizes that diversity is demonstrated in many forms, and inclusion improves and enhances both the learning environment and student outcomes. Consequently, I strive to honor and support the voices of all of my students. Through culturally relevant teaching and thoughtful planning of course material and readings, I will be intentional in developing a multicultural education that is respectful of a number of diverse dimensions such as gender, race, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, immigrant status, ethnicity, and culture. As a guest lecturer in a Human Diversity and Human Development course, I used an intersectional framework to shape students understanding of the overlap between diversity and development and discussed existing disparities within the emerging adulthood phase of development. Students also participated in a group activity addressing how multicultural dimensions influence differences in marriage, health, employment, and education within emerging adulthood.
In recognition of differences in experience, my teaching philosophy promotes the integration and sharing of personal stories in the classroom as each learner contributes their own experience and insight. To facilitate active involvement of learners, I will engage the students in a series of exercises at the beginning of the course that allow students to get to know each other, build trust with one another, and cultivate an environment where we are all both teachers and learners. One such exercise involves students anonymously filling out questionnaires regarding experiences they may have had such as a parent being incarcerated or being a member of a marginalized group. Each student receives another classmate’s responses and as each experience is read aloud, students whose sheet has “yes” marked, steps forward into the circle. As a co-teacher of University 101 and Educational Leadership and Policies: The Teacher as Manager, I was able to use this exercise to build community and raise consciousness of the students. As we begin to form a community, we will set the expectations and guidelines for the class together with an emphasis on ways we can foster an environment where the diverse expressions of each student’s background, competence, and expertise are respected.
To accomplish my first goal of students becoming critical thinkers, I will strive to foster a safe community of learning recognizing that safety is different than being comfortable. I actively provoke critical thinking and consciousness raising by having students assess their own values and the assumptions that inform them. Students will be challenged to expand their worldview and refine and deepen their awareness of others perspectives. Students will demonstrate evidence of this learning through various assignments such as a self-reflective paper on intersectionality identifying how their multiple social identities intersect and acknowledging invisible and visible areas of both privilege and oppression within these identities. Students will learn how to clearly articulate and provide support for their thoughts while presenting their writing in a manner that commands respect. Beyond self-awareness, students will be expected to thoughtfully engage in dialogue with others that enriches the class discussion. Students will be encouraged to share how the course readings have helped them re-think old ideas or ways of thinking, what questions the readings have generated about their practice or personal life, and how their thinking is changing with each reading – all activities that encourage their growth as reflexive and self-aware thinkers.
Second, as social work frequently involves interprofessional work, I will teach students skills in collaborative problem solving. With the recognition that the development and honing of interpersonal communication skills is a dynamic and continuous process, students will be asked throughout the semester to reflect growth in these skills through group work. Through structured group exercises, students will learn skills in perspective taking, social regulation, task regulation, and problem solving that leads to the creation of new and meaningful knowledge. In a policy course or in a theory course, one way to stimulate learning this skill would be to have groups of students tasked with a complex social problem such as mass incarceration, break down potential root causes, and present potential interventions or solutions from various theoretical views. Through this process, students will be encouraged to use original and creative thinking to synthesize course material and propose solutions to real-life problems. Using critical thought, students need to show evidence of their ability to articulate complex social problems in value-neutral ways and their ability to engage in culturally sensitive conservations with peers.
Finally, as I share new ideas and strategies I have learned from students, I will emphasize and model the importance of being a life-long learner. To enhance my cultural responsiveness, I will continue to become educated about different ethnic backgrounds and cultures to learn how I can better tailor my teaching to meet the unique needs of each diverse learner. Course material will be developed based on current news and research to enrich class discussion. As the educational landscape changes with new technology, I will stay abreast in new research surrounding teaching strategies and integrate novel resources to aid in the understanding of course content. Additionally, continuous learning will be modeled by asking for informal and formal feedback through check-ins and midterm evaluations. I will use these evaluations to assess how students are grasping the material and make changes throughout the course to better assist student’s development.
Through the cultivation of skills in critical thinking, collaborative problem solving, and life-long learning, social work students will be prepared to contribute knowledge to the field and generate innovative ideas to be catalysts for social change and promoters of social justice.
For me, developing a connected learning community requires authenticity, a supportive environment, and a recognition of difference in thought, perspective, and experience. My position recognizes that diversity is demonstrated in many forms, and inclusion improves and enhances both the learning environment and student outcomes. Consequently, I strive to honor and support the voices of all of my students. Through culturally relevant teaching and thoughtful planning of course material and readings, I will be intentional in developing a multicultural education that is respectful of a number of diverse dimensions such as gender, race, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, immigrant status, ethnicity, and culture. As a guest lecturer in a Human Diversity and Human Development course, I used an intersectional framework to shape students understanding of the overlap between diversity and development and discussed existing disparities within the emerging adulthood phase of development. Students also participated in a group activity addressing how multicultural dimensions influence differences in marriage, health, employment, and education within emerging adulthood.
In recognition of differences in experience, my teaching philosophy promotes the integration and sharing of personal stories in the classroom as each learner contributes their own experience and insight. To facilitate active involvement of learners, I will engage the students in a series of exercises at the beginning of the course that allow students to get to know each other, build trust with one another, and cultivate an environment where we are all both teachers and learners. One such exercise involves students anonymously filling out questionnaires regarding experiences they may have had such as a parent being incarcerated or being a member of a marginalized group. Each student receives another classmate’s responses and as each experience is read aloud, students whose sheet has “yes” marked, steps forward into the circle. As a co-teacher of University 101 and Educational Leadership and Policies: The Teacher as Manager, I was able to use this exercise to build community and raise consciousness of the students. As we begin to form a community, we will set the expectations and guidelines for the class together with an emphasis on ways we can foster an environment where the diverse expressions of each student’s background, competence, and expertise are respected.
To accomplish my first goal of students becoming critical thinkers, I will strive to foster a safe community of learning recognizing that safety is different than being comfortable. I actively provoke critical thinking and consciousness raising by having students assess their own values and the assumptions that inform them. Students will be challenged to expand their worldview and refine and deepen their awareness of others perspectives. Students will demonstrate evidence of this learning through various assignments such as a self-reflective paper on intersectionality identifying how their multiple social identities intersect and acknowledging invisible and visible areas of both privilege and oppression within these identities. Students will learn how to clearly articulate and provide support for their thoughts while presenting their writing in a manner that commands respect. Beyond self-awareness, students will be expected to thoughtfully engage in dialogue with others that enriches the class discussion. Students will be encouraged to share how the course readings have helped them re-think old ideas or ways of thinking, what questions the readings have generated about their practice or personal life, and how their thinking is changing with each reading – all activities that encourage their growth as reflexive and self-aware thinkers.
Second, as social work frequently involves interprofessional work, I will teach students skills in collaborative problem solving. With the recognition that the development and honing of interpersonal communication skills is a dynamic and continuous process, students will be asked throughout the semester to reflect growth in these skills through group work. Through structured group exercises, students will learn skills in perspective taking, social regulation, task regulation, and problem solving that leads to the creation of new and meaningful knowledge. In a policy course or in a theory course, one way to stimulate learning this skill would be to have groups of students tasked with a complex social problem such as mass incarceration, break down potential root causes, and present potential interventions or solutions from various theoretical views. Through this process, students will be encouraged to use original and creative thinking to synthesize course material and propose solutions to real-life problems. Using critical thought, students need to show evidence of their ability to articulate complex social problems in value-neutral ways and their ability to engage in culturally sensitive conservations with peers.
Finally, as I share new ideas and strategies I have learned from students, I will emphasize and model the importance of being a life-long learner. To enhance my cultural responsiveness, I will continue to become educated about different ethnic backgrounds and cultures to learn how I can better tailor my teaching to meet the unique needs of each diverse learner. Course material will be developed based on current news and research to enrich class discussion. As the educational landscape changes with new technology, I will stay abreast in new research surrounding teaching strategies and integrate novel resources to aid in the understanding of course content. Additionally, continuous learning will be modeled by asking for informal and formal feedback through check-ins and midterm evaluations. I will use these evaluations to assess how students are grasping the material and make changes throughout the course to better assist student’s development.
Through the cultivation of skills in critical thinking, collaborative problem solving, and life-long learning, social work students will be prepared to contribute knowledge to the field and generate innovative ideas to be catalysts for social change and promoters of social justice.