A holistic approach to knowing, understanding and respecting students
The central piece of my teaching philosophy is that to be an effective teacher, I need to recognize the student as a whole person. He or she is not a student number, a seat in the course, or a tuition amount. ABE students have complex needs, can come from challenging life situations, and are doing the best they can in an environment that may be foreign and/or intimidating for them. Recognizing each student as unique, valuable, and capable is the starting point for my teaching. Teaching and learning should originate from the experience, insights and knowledge of the individual in a way that honours and respects each student. It is this lens that guides the following statements.
Fostering student engagement to ensure student success
Learning is a dynamic, active, and multifaceted process that is ultimately the responsibility of the student. An instructor may have a number of wonderful things to teach, but if the student does not believe the content is interesting or relevant to him/her, she/he will not be engaged. An instructor needs to be extremely purposeful in their course design and class management to ensure that connections to real life are made clear, multiple learning styles are addressed, supports are accessible, and students feel comfortable in the learning environment. With every lesson, activity, and assessment, I as the instructor, need to ask myself, “Will this encourage my students to engage in learning?”
Modelling a growth mindset and an enthusiasm for the subject matter
Learning is a lifelong activity. No one person holds all knowledge, and often students will fall into the assumption that the teacher knows all and the student only learns what is taught. I am intentional about letting students know that I am also learning- as a biologist and a teacher. If there are questions in class that I am unsure how to answer, we research them collaboratively and go where our inquiry takes us. Curiosity is one of the greatest strengths of successful students. I also find that if I am excited about the course material, my students will be too. Biology is full of amazing information and I constantly find myself asking the class after we’ve discussed a topic: “Isn’t that amazing?” All it takes is that one little question, and they also start to see the wonder and beauty that exists in biology.