Teaching Statement

My main goal as a teacher is to ensure students are able to interact with the concepts that they’re taught and understand how these concepts fit into the “real world.” It is my hope that students will be able to understand how concepts affect them and other people or aspects in the world. Synthesis of ideas is integral, and students should be able to connect what they learn to other classes and the world at large. Students should not have to worry about grades and earning every possible point, but rather on true understanding of concepts. Rote memorization should not have to be utilized to pass the class. Quality of learning is my emphasis, and I hope all students come out of my classes with a confident understanding of course content.

Discussion in class is highly encouraged. I want my students to be able to talk to each other and share their ideas. This will help them understand where their ideas come from and deconstruct concepts in class. It is integral to be able to interrogate preconceived notions and understand how they compare to, for example, established scientific literature. Think-Pair-Share is an essential part of this, as it allows students to review concepts and discuss with peers to highlight any gaps in knowledge or emphasize certain points. Another practice that I think is important to include is regular short answer assignments, where is no grade, but plenty of feedback to help students understand what the gaps in their knowledge are.

The student population is vastly diverse, and different students have different needs. In order to ensure equitable learning in the classroom, it is imperative that teaching must be done in a number of diverse ways. This allows for learning to be accessible to a larger portion of the class, but the variety in teaching methods also keeps students engaged. There are many evidence-based teaching techniques, and integrating a variety of them within the classroom allows for more opportunities for successful learning and growth. Diversity in thought lets students consider topics in different ways, and encouraging this diversity, especially in discussion, is an important aspect in expanding the worldview of students. Different instructional tools I would like to include in the classroom include doing case studies, journal clubs and research projects, all of which encourage critical thinking and integration of class concepts.

Assessments can be a stressful and fraught aspect of many classrooms, but are also integral in measuring student learning. My goal is for assessments to be an important tool in feedback, rather than something for the students to fear. Frequent, regularly spaced assessments can help students better retain information and have a clearer understanding of what was taught. Not all assessments have to be graded, or students may have chances to redo them. This allows for less worrying of grades and more emphasis on learning. Redos also allow for students to critically think about their answers and what the gaps in their knowledge are. For short- or long-answer assessments, rubrics are also integral in allowing students to know what is expected of them and helps structure their ideas and answers. Thorough and timely feedback on all assessments is also critical, as it informs students of how they can improve throughout the course.