My Teaching Philosophy

          I must know what to teach as well as what is the best way to teach or present it and in order to be effective. Educators must know their students, and remain in touch with popular culture. I must be aware of what students know when they come into the classroom to form a foundation on which to build as well as how to tap into that knowledge.

       The role of teacher is also to be a facilitator, I should empower students to become responsible for their own independent learning. I should be able to vary teaching styles and should expect students to participate in a mixture of lecture, discussion and group activities occur both indoors and outdoors.

      I am responsible for building a relationship with students. I should be accessible to all students, making sure that I talk to individual students both inside and outside the classroom and that I am available to students after class. I must respect all students without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap or national origin. 

       In sum, my philosophy for effective teaching is to foster a fun, supportive learning environment and to provide students with lifetime learning skills. Through this approach, I have found that I am not only more effective at teaching class material, but I also believe I end up preparing students for their post-university life, regardless of where their career path takes them.