So, in the real world, this is what I do to bring my teaching philosophy into the classroom.
Initial Engagement: I begin each session with a short piece of “entertainment”. By this, I mean a relevant short video or story or interactive activity that directly relates to the material we are going to cover but is “fun” or entertaining. I do this to engage the students right away in the belief that if I’ve got them listening and participating then I will keep them through the more nuts and bolts learning to come.
Knowledge and Understanding: I then move right into what we are going to learn, but I don’t define any terms until they have seen them in action. For instance, using Boolean Searching to search databases is hard to wrap your mind around when it is being taught out of context. So I move right into using it and pointing it out as we search together. After they have seen it in action, I go back and name it and define it. In this way I believe the students relate to the “foreign” information better and absorb it. Once absorbed they are able to put the concept to use.
Performance and Action: So, do they get it? I usually tell them another story now, and then I move on from showing them or having them follow along to having them choose interactively what we do. I literally make them participate. I continually ask them to act or speak and conclude. When successful, this is a wonderful thing. We search the same topics at least three times, three being the magic number for their brains to process what they have seen and make it their own. I have had particularly strong success using brainstorming and mind-mapping tools to get them participating and thinking on their own. It is crucial to their success that they have the same tools I am showing them face to face available to them later. To that end, I ask their professor to embed my contact information and any collateral materials such as PowerPoints, online subject guides and handouts into their Learning Management System, in this case ANGEL.
Reflection and Critique: This is for me to evaluate myself and what I have done but also for the students and the faculty whose class I am in. It is hard to include them in this process because I usually have one hour with students to impart a lot of information, and I have already entertained them and told stories in between. I ask them to answer three open ended questions at the end of each session and I ask the faculty to email me with a critique and any helpful suggestions good or bad. At present, I use this information to help me do a better job and restructure. I take all the comments to heart and reflect on them for the future.
Judgment and Design: Here is where I evaluate all the different diverse learning styles and abilities of the students in my classes and reference sessions and make sure I am addressing their needs. From the reflection above, I know if I have to slow down or repeat more or use less or more technology. I try to practice “active listening” so they are aware that I have heard their needs and contributions. I work hard to engage them with different techniques and technologies, but I also try to gauge the mood and tone in the moment. Just because it is a brand new technology does not mean it is resonating with the students. I design each session individually for each class or assignment but I don't "re-invent" the wheel each time. I re-use proven modules I have already created and combine them appropriately for each session.
Commitment and Identity: For the students, this comes later when they have had a good amount of educational success and even failures. For my part I hope to add to that identity by helping them to help themselves, adding to their knowledge base, and enabling them to move forward with their writing, research and citing as second nature instead of a difficult task. This hopefully enables them to concentrate on the content of their work and move forward in a more meaningful way. Once they have the confidence that the nuts and bolts are correct they should be able to boldly share what they think and dream and write without fear.
Initial Engagement: I begin each session with a short piece of “entertainment”. By this, I mean a relevant short video or story or interactive activity that directly relates to the material we are going to cover but is “fun” or entertaining. I do this to engage the students right away in the belief that if I’ve got them listening and participating then I will keep them through the more nuts and bolts learning to come.
Knowledge and Understanding: I then move right into what we are going to learn, but I don’t define any terms until they have seen them in action. For instance, using Boolean Searching to search databases is hard to wrap your mind around when it is being taught out of context. So I move right into using it and pointing it out as we search together. After they have seen it in action, I go back and name it and define it. In this way I believe the students relate to the “foreign” information better and absorb it. Once absorbed they are able to put the concept to use.
Performance and Action: So, do they get it? I usually tell them another story now, and then I move on from showing them or having them follow along to having them choose interactively what we do. I literally make them participate. I continually ask them to act or speak and conclude. When successful, this is a wonderful thing. We search the same topics at least three times, three being the magic number for their brains to process what they have seen and make it their own. I have had particularly strong success using brainstorming and mind-mapping tools to get them participating and thinking on their own. It is crucial to their success that they have the same tools I am showing them face to face available to them later. To that end, I ask their professor to embed my contact information and any collateral materials such as PowerPoints, online subject guides and handouts into their Learning Management System, in this case ANGEL.
Reflection and Critique: This is for me to evaluate myself and what I have done but also for the students and the faculty whose class I am in. It is hard to include them in this process because I usually have one hour with students to impart a lot of information, and I have already entertained them and told stories in between. I ask them to answer three open ended questions at the end of each session and I ask the faculty to email me with a critique and any helpful suggestions good or bad. At present, I use this information to help me do a better job and restructure. I take all the comments to heart and reflect on them for the future.
Judgment and Design: Here is where I evaluate all the different diverse learning styles and abilities of the students in my classes and reference sessions and make sure I am addressing their needs. From the reflection above, I know if I have to slow down or repeat more or use less or more technology. I try to practice “active listening” so they are aware that I have heard their needs and contributions. I work hard to engage them with different techniques and technologies, but I also try to gauge the mood and tone in the moment. Just because it is a brand new technology does not mean it is resonating with the students. I design each session individually for each class or assignment but I don't "re-invent" the wheel each time. I re-use proven modules I have already created and combine them appropriately for each session.
Commitment and Identity: For the students, this comes later when they have had a good amount of educational success and even failures. For my part I hope to add to that identity by helping them to help themselves, adding to their knowledge base, and enabling them to move forward with their writing, research and citing as second nature instead of a difficult task. This hopefully enables them to concentrate on the content of their work and move forward in a more meaningful way. Once they have the confidence that the nuts and bolts are correct they should be able to boldly share what they think and dream and write without fear.