Jill Davis: Department of Social Work

I believe that to be most effective as an instructor, one must create a safe environment that is interactive and collaborative and that promotes problem-solving and critical thinking skills. A welcoming environment accommodates a variety of adult learning styles and encourages students to present their opinions while respecting the opinions of others. By giving students a voice in class, not only do the students benefit from peer-peer learning by enriching the course material with personal experiences and knowledge, but they also take responsibility for their own learning and, therefore, enhance the integration of their new knowledge into practice. Promoting independent thinking is essential so that students can take what they have learned and apply it in real-life situations. Therefore, I endeavor to make my classroom an arena for students to learn skills and demonstrate outcomes.

To create a safe learning environment, I encourage students to ask questions and give their views on the material we are covering. I solicit anonymous feedback in the form of “one-minute papers” from my students about assignments as well as my teaching style, and I then implement student suggestions to improve my service delivery and their learning outcomes. I create assignments that improve students’ problem-solving and critical thinking skills, such as analyzing the behaviors of a social worker as depicted in a television show to determine if the social worker abided by the NASW Code of Ethics. I utilize small-group discussions both to actively involve the students in their own learning as well as to improve their critical thinking skills.

In order to achieve the ultimate goal of student learning, I strive to implement strategies that create a collaborative and safe atmosphere and encourage the application of knowledge to new situations. I believe that these strategies help students become ready and able to utilize their knowledge in their studies and in their future employment.

Ruby Evans

Overview
The constancy of change in contemporary teaching and learning environments behooves one to think critically about a teaching philosophy. In the 21st century, a new literacy has emerged—the ability to use appropriate technological tools in an Information society. For example, the personal computer and associated technological innovations, e.g., the Internet and E-mail, have become commonplace.

Alvin Toffler, futurist, and author of the classic Future Shock, puts it best, when he says: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn". Faculty must critically examine and re-examine teaching philosophies, as the environments in which teaching and learning become increasingly diverse and varied.

Since originally published in 1987 by the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE), Chickering and Gamson’s “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” have weathered the test of time. These principles, equally applicable to graduate instruction, provide an adequate conceptual framework for the goals of my teaching philosophy. Chickering and Gamson assert that good educational practice does the following:

• Encourages student-faculty contact
• Encourages cooperation among students
  
• Encourages active learning
  
• Gives prompt feedback
  
• Emphasizes time on task
  
• Communicates high expectations
  
• Respects diverse talents and ways of learning

Methodology
In teaching, my overarching goal is to develop a student-centered environment. I want students to actively participate, rather than passively learn. When planning a course of instruction, I identify a set of objectives and skills. Next, I compile a rationale for each objective and skill. I design a course plan that emphasizes the application of critical thinking skills to foster deep learning, and the use of collaborative learning skills to facilitate “real-world” problem solving. I also embed activities in the instructional process that are designed to help students develop research and writing skills—readily transferable across disciplines—as they engage in learning of content material.

Throughout the teaching and learning process, I incorporate multiple choices and pathways through the learning materials. I encourage students to engage in open-ended formative and summative evaluation of the course (what’s working, what’s not). I also ask students to self-evaluate individual progress. Finally, my course design includes a data-driven evaluation component, which focuses on systematic outcomes and results, that are clearly tied to course goals and objectives.

Evaluation
To measure student learning, I provide multiple assessments. Over my 16 years of teaching experience, these assessments have included:

• Collaborative research projects
  
• Formal scholarly research papers
  
• Portfolios
  
• Presentations (Speaking, Multimedia)
  
• Quizzes
  
• Review activities
  
• Student written newsletters
  
• Traditional exams
  
• Writing Activities
  
• Written concept summaries

Summary
My philosophy of teaching asserts that students are entitled to quality instruction in an active and stimulating learning environment. Students should experience frequent and repeated opportunities to act, react, and interact with each other and the professor. Curriculum materials should be timely and relevant. Standards of excellence—high, yet attainable—should be used to facilitate optimal student learning. Finally, as teaching is a process, not an activity, my teaching philosophy offers an invaluable reflective view on “how to” strive for instructional improvement.

Dr. Thomas Evans, College of Business

My emphasis in teaching is on learning. My teaching goal is to facilitate learning (helping students learn) and I believe that teaching plays a major role in that. Learning is primarily the student's responsibility, whereas teaching is my responsibility. My emphasis is on helping the student to learn, rather than just dispensing my knowledge to them. I am there to “light their candle," not just "fill their bucket.”

I believe that effective teaching is comprised of two necessary and related elements: knowledge of the content and ability to communicate it. Knowing the material is not enough to be effective in teaching it; likewise, communication skills won't work alone. Thus, I take care to understand the concepts I expect to cover and to make them understandable to the students. I organize my presentations with the student's learning in mind and keep my knowledge up to date. I also emphasize the importance of communication by using humor and a variety in teaching techniques to make learning enjoyable so as to motivate the students to learn.

I follow these principles in teaching: being enthusiastic for each class and letting it show; learning about the students in the course; organizing each class well; using a presentation style that maximizes student interest; and using a variety of teaching methods to present the material. I use humor in my presentations to spark student interest and make my presentations engaging. I vary my teaching techniques in class (cases, discussion groups, lecture, etc.). I extensively utilize Powerpoint software and all elements of multimedia (documents, music CDs, videos, web sites, etc). Through the use of my Voluntary Student I.D. forms for graduate students, I find out about my students so I can relate to them personally in class and focus the course on their needs and background. These forms are also used to structure the students into class teams. I keep these forms on file so I can be available to the students as a reference.

Russ Ward

Teaching is a process of instilling the concepts and necessary skills for life-long learning, in addition to team participation, with an individual. The student will ultimately leave the protective environment of the ‘educational system’ to enter society as, hopefully, a contributing entity. When this occurs, it is vitally important to have the ability to ‘teach one’s self’ and effectively collaborate with others, in order to manage and process the problems and issues that are presented during life. I believe this is necessary for the continued growth of humanity.

As a teacher, my goal is to share this process, focusing on subject matter in my area of expertise, using current teaching tools available. I strive to personally model this using my professional experience in the real world, often incorporating current projects as they are presented to me, and continuously seek new methods of processing and presentation. My lesson plan allows flexibility for this spontaneous discovery as well as directives toward specific goals. I present students the fundamentals of the subject, real world examples, and a collaborative forum for discussing options to deal with these issues and why. From this, the student will experience a ‘hands-on’ practical application of the learning process, and, as a teacher and professional in my field, I have the opportunity to gain new insight based on individual student needs and collaboration with colleagues.

View other teaching philosophy statements from winners of the UCF Excellence in Teaching Awards

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