Teaching Philosophy

We start learning by instinct; even before we realize we are learning we are already doing so. This means that since the day we are born we are learners. We start teaching once we have learned. In other words, we are more experienced learners than teachers. However, in order to teach we must first understand how each student learns. There are people that learn by reading, others by listening; some people learn by doing things with their hands, others by observing. I believe that, to be successful in teaching we need to teach to small groups of people. We need to learn what type of learners we have in the classroom before we can approach and teach them.
 
My specific objective while teaching a class is for the students to learn the fundamental content of the course. If somebody takes a class in malting and brewing, I expect that by the end of the course that person understands the fundamentals of how malt and beer are produced. However, the core objectives of my teaching go beyond and apply to any topic being taught. My objective is to teach the students a critical thinking, and especially how to effectively find and use information. The teacher can explain the facts in the classroom, but the teacher will not follow the student wherever she/he goes after the course is over; teaching where to find reliable information and how to interpret it is crucial for success in professional life.
 
The student in my class should expect to learn, other than the concepts of the topic being taught, the following principles; they are crucial for a proper learning experience in my classes.

·         To give credit to others when they have earned it.

·         To never make fun of others.

·         To be respectful.

·         To be polite.

·         To be on time.

·         To not alter the truth.

·         To express concisely.

·         To be sure to enjoy what you do.

·         To be dedicated to what you do.

·         To choose the analysis before a hunch.

  
The approach I like to use is to teach the way that students like to learn. I like using technology in my classes, and having interesting presentations with animations and videos. I like my students to feel that they are not in a classroom. I encourage them to discuss the topic between them, and share their point of view. I suggest them to teach others what they have learned. I try to keep the communication the way they communicate now. If you write the homework on the blackboard, only a few will notice it; if you send a text message, or e-mail, most of them will pay attention. Field trips, hands-on demonstrations, and challenging tasks complete a typical course with me. The evaluation of what students learn is assessed by problem-based tests that can be in the form of a presentation.

On Getting to Know Your Students

After I finished reading Markwell and Courtney's article, it was time to go through Chapter 8 of the handbook "Science Teaching Reconsidered" (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5287.html). As Dr. Offerdahl mentioned last tuesday morning, this reading is "an oldie, but a goodie". The chapter condenses in seven pages why it is important to know your students; not only their names but their backgrounds. A fact that I related to our classroom was that the text states: "male students are more likely to be vocal in class". Last tuesday there were four round tables with students at class (I believe one table had only female students), and from each table it was a female student who took the lead of talking about the topics discussed.

I found interesting that the chapter gives hints on how to get to know your students, and by doing so helping them achieve their goals. We need to elucidate why each student is perfoming like they do. If they are performing well at class, there is no problem. But if their performance is poor, we may need to ask why. We need to do everything that is possible for each student to succeed. Maybe the student is extremely tired because s/he just became a parent; maybe the student feels isolated in a different culture, among other possible reasons. The thing that we should not do is to place a tag on the student without knowing her. This is highly detrimental for the learning process.

On Cognitive Development and Undergraduate Learners in Science

Last night I read the article "Cognitive Development and the Complexities of the Undergraduate Learner in the Science Classroom" (Biochem. Mol. Biol. Edu., Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 267-271, 2006). Markwell and Courtney's goal is to increase awareness on us (in my case, a potential teacher) about how undergraduates develop their "capacity for reasoning, problem solving, and critical thinking" and why it is important to adjust the teaching methods from an entry-level class to a senior class. It was quite interesting for me to read the paper and stop once in a while to think in which level of cognitive development I was when I took my first college class. Moreover, I found extremely interesting to think if my teachers were aware of these changes students go through this time of life.

I believe that, in order to be a good teacher, you must have passion about teaching, and passion about your field of study. I think some teachers like feeling recognized and respected by their students, and by doing this, they send a message to the student that they are dealing with a higher, unreachable character. A student should respect the teacher, but the teacher should be more than a lecturer; s/he should try to be a person at the same level of the student, but one who has already understood the fact and theories that will be thaught in the class. The teacher should know how to handle a group, one individual at a time.