My philosophy of teaching is to provide students with an opportunity to learn by encouraging them to express their ideas and participate in their educational experience. Although I do stress individual responsibility for learning, I also provide explanation and guidance regarding the course material and subject matter. I believe that the purpose of teaching is more than relaying facts and developing basic skills. As an instructor I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of students' learning experience and to help them gain knowledge that they rarely have the time to develop independently. It is my delight to see the students grow both professionally and personally. It is also my desire to inspire students to learn more on their own.
I strive to make the course material interesting by varying the teaching methods I use to reach students with different learning styles. I realize that some students learn from visual presentations; and others, from verbal explanations. Some students desire to be told with clear directions what to do on an assignment while others wish to create their own procedures after considering many concepts. Therefore, I make a conscious effort to vary my teaching techniques to connect with as many students as possible. My preferred teaching style is to introduce basics of the course material and let students interact with the material to build their skills and confidence.
For my students' convenience, I use the course classroom as my "office". I come early to class, and I further make myself available by using Canvas as an instructional resource and electronic mail to communicate frequently with students. I also provide office hours at CRC in BS-157 to help increase my availability to students. These approaches have worked well to provide students with that extra bit of help outside of class.
Teaching both in the classroom and out has always been a core component of my work experiences. To date, my instructional experiences have been fulfilling, and I have enjoyed my interactions with students.