Teaching Philosophy Statement
Philosophy
My philosophy for teaching starts from the basic idea that students should feel comfortable making mistakes, as long as they learn from their mistakes. The course assessment policies are all designed to test students, but at the same time give students the opportunity to get help when they need it. As the course instructor I am always “on call” for my students. They know I encourage them to interrupt my lectures at any time if they have questions or need clarification. I am available after class to any students that are available to stay after and go over any problems they are having. As students are comfortable asking for help, this availability is typically sufficient, however I also have office hours available by request to any students that are not able to stay after class. I also encourage students to email me questions or problems that they are having, with response times typically less than 30 minutes.
Just as I encourage my students to learn from their mistakes, I also encourage them to help me grow in my role as an instructor. I administer student feedback surveys at the conclusion of every course offering, asking students to be as honest with me as I was with them. I also use informal early feedback in offerings that are sufficiently long for such feedback to be useful. I read all of the responses and try to improve and implement student suggestions when possible. I am still a young instructor, so my classes are as much a learning experience for me as they are for my students.
Just as I encourage my students to learn from their mistakes, I also encourage them to help me grow in my role as an instructor. I administer student feedback surveys at the conclusion of every course offering, asking students to be as honest with me as I was with them. I also use informal early feedback in offerings that are sufficiently long for such feedback to be useful. I read all of the responses and try to improve and implement student suggestions when possible. I am still a young instructor, so my classes are as much a learning experience for me as they are for my students.
Goals
I strive to teach my students to not only understand the fundamental class material, but also to try to explain the material to others. These skills help students not only in my classes, but in other their other classes, and in other learning experiences they will encounter in their lives.
In my LaTeX programming class I have always stressed understanding of material over more extrinsic motivators such as points and grades. While grades are certainly useful during school life, it is the fundamental understanding of the material being presented that will be useful to them for the rest of their professional career. To that end, students have the opportunity to re-submit assignments until their submissions are correct. This allows students to place more emphasis on learning and worry less about homework points, as they know they can resubmit assignments as necessary, so long as they eventually come to understand the material being presented.
Students are also encouraged to try to explain the material they learn in my classes to their friends and colleagues. In the context of LaTeX programming, this situation often arises naturally, as there are few students in any given research group that actually know the language well, and those that do become the “experts” that others come to for help. By encouraging students to try to teach the material to others, they improve their colleagues’ understanding of the language, and the act of articulating the information and teaching others reinforces their own understanding of the material.
In my LaTeX programming class I have always stressed understanding of material over more extrinsic motivators such as points and grades. While grades are certainly useful during school life, it is the fundamental understanding of the material being presented that will be useful to them for the rest of their professional career. To that end, students have the opportunity to re-submit assignments until their submissions are correct. This allows students to place more emphasis on learning and worry less about homework points, as they know they can resubmit assignments as necessary, so long as they eventually come to understand the material being presented.
Students are also encouraged to try to explain the material they learn in my classes to their friends and colleagues. In the context of LaTeX programming, this situation often arises naturally, as there are few students in any given research group that actually know the language well, and those that do become the “experts” that others come to for help. By encouraging students to try to teach the material to others, they improve their colleagues’ understanding of the language, and the act of articulating the information and teaching others reinforces their own understanding of the material.
Methods
My class time is devoted to lecture due to the training nature of the courses I teach. I have prepared lecture material, as well as active portions where I prompt students with a simple related problem, give them some time to solve it, and then go through the solution to clear up any issues. These activities help show students that the material covered in class can be related to their specific fields, and given sufficient practice, can be solved quickly regardless of the field. I choose my lecture content based on the complexity of material and feedback from previous course offerings. I spend most of the lecture time teaching the more complex topics and spending extra time on areas where students historically had difficulty, leaving the introduction of more straightforward material to assignments and projects. My classes are also very informal. My students are on a first-name basis with me and are highly encouraged to interrupt me at any time with questions. The open environment helps students feel more comfortable asking for help, which in turn helps them get the clarification they need in order to understand the course material.
I give weekly homework assignments, as only through practice and application will students truly understand they materials they have learned. These assignments range in difficulty, but typically start out relatively straightforward in order to build students’ confidence, and get increasingly complex as the course goes on. As mentioned before, students are permitted to resubmit these assignments until they are correct, which gives students the freedom to experiment, make mistakes, and correct them, without worrying about negative implications on their grades. I also try to get students to see that there are multiple solutions to the problems they are presented, both in the homework and in real situations. Homework assignments that contain correct but less-than-optimal solutions still receive full credit, but possibly more elegant methods for solving the problems are given as feedback. This system allows students to receive the credit they deserve for solving the problems, but also shows them that there are ways to improve their work which will save them time and effort in the future.
My LaTeX courses also typically feature a final project, rather than an exam. An untimed project allows students to work their way through the problem at a reasonable pace, without having to worry about rushing to complete all of the problems in a timed exam, which reinforces the goal of promoting fundamental understanding over test points. If students are still confused about certain aspects of the course tested in the project, they still have the opportunity to learn the material or ask for help and apply it to the project. This feedback and improvement would be difficult to impossible in a more typical timed, closed-book exam.
I give weekly homework assignments, as only through practice and application will students truly understand they materials they have learned. These assignments range in difficulty, but typically start out relatively straightforward in order to build students’ confidence, and get increasingly complex as the course goes on. As mentioned before, students are permitted to resubmit these assignments until they are correct, which gives students the freedom to experiment, make mistakes, and correct them, without worrying about negative implications on their grades. I also try to get students to see that there are multiple solutions to the problems they are presented, both in the homework and in real situations. Homework assignments that contain correct but less-than-optimal solutions still receive full credit, but possibly more elegant methods for solving the problems are given as feedback. This system allows students to receive the credit they deserve for solving the problems, but also shows them that there are ways to improve their work which will save them time and effort in the future.
My LaTeX courses also typically feature a final project, rather than an exam. An untimed project allows students to work their way through the problem at a reasonable pace, without having to worry about rushing to complete all of the problems in a timed exam, which reinforces the goal of promoting fundamental understanding over test points. If students are still confused about certain aspects of the course tested in the project, they still have the opportunity to learn the material or ask for help and apply it to the project. This feedback and improvement would be difficult to impossible in a more typical timed, closed-book exam.