Christopher Parkinson
College of Arts and Sciences
Biology

Year Awarded: 2005

Teaching Philosophy

As a professor, it is my responsibility to motivate the students’ interest in the course. My goal is to utilize active learning techniques to teach critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills. This is very difficult, but I am fortunate to have a dynamic personality, quick sense of humor and an intense passion to excite students. I often integrate my research and other real-world examples to solidify understanding of important principles.

One of my trademarks is my respect for the student. By the second week of class, I know each student by name (even in my 81 person classes.) We set high expectations for both them and me. I invite dialogue. In my class, students learn to expect questions, thus they must be prepared. Students learn that asking “why” is important. There are no stupid questions. My greatest accomplishment is providing a non-threatening, nurturing environment, for my students to learn. Respect is a key reason for this success.

When students feel that you genuinely care about them and they see you giving your all to them, they do not want to disappoint you. There are days in lecture that I do not get through all of the planned material as I spend most of the period trying to answer a student’s question several different ways. My thought is, if one student has the question, several others do as well. I often wonder if they work so hard so as to not disappoint me or if I have lighted a fire in them. It doesn’t matter as long as the result is the same.

Finally, I love teaching. I prepare each lecture (even if I have taught the course before,) and I try to leave a favorable impression on each student. I believe what makes me an excellent teacher is my ability to motivate students.