Will technology guide your teaching?
Teaching philosophies are vital to the success of the students. As engaged as the instructors are, the more positive outcomes come out of these classes. This week has been a week I’ve been thinking very deeply about teaching.. In relations to the readings and striking a balance with my own, already present teaching philosophy.
I’ve been a true believer that people can always improve and build on an already present teaching philosophy, to include a lot to engage students in the most cutting edge manner. Sometimes I’m really sold on the cool things technology can do for teaching. I love technology, I’m attracted to it, and I think it’s awesome. I’ve had classes that had awesome teachers who relied less on technology, while some relied on PowerPoint. There were others that had a lot of technology, but couldn’t engage their student’s interest in the class. At the end of the day, my peers and I got interested in what we could get in touch with… In other words, if learning this course could help us be better in our field… If we knew the benefits, if we knew what to do and how to accomplish our dreams… we did. It really helped to have good teachers, who could really teach. Who cared for their students. Who were interested in their students success.
On that note, part of my teaching philosophy isn’t to impress my students and give them technology. Technology can support their education, but it doesn’t have to be the full thing. In both Sarah Deel’s essay “Finding my Teaching Voice” and Shelli Folwer’s “The Authentic Teaching Self and Communication Skills” the struggle is quite clear for how to both establish control and interest in classrooms without micromanaging students and being strict. Apparently, this struggle is more well-known among females than males, but it exists. A lot of what both of these pieces included made me wonder, well how would I handle my students, how much technology, how friendly should I be… etc etc…. I don’t have the right answers to all these questions even after doing the readings and thinking about the responses to these questions.
However, what I do know, is I vow to be passionate about what I teach or quit. I vow to transfer these passions to my students. I will not have any student feel like research is more important than teaching them. The students, and the print left within students will be there. I will also be there for my students, and I will encourage them and support them. I will teach my students the tools they will forever use in their lives for their success. That’s what I know. I can’t tell you if I’ll buy into a lot of technology or a mild amount, but I’ll stick to making my students the best most passionate students in the world. That’s how I see it. If you have any tools or tips to make this possible, please leave me a comment! Thanks!
February 23, 2016 @ 1:11 pm
Thanks for sharing such a passionate post!
I have a couple of years of teaching experience and still don’t have the answers to your questions. I think every group is different, every semester you are different, I believe there are some external factors as well that can influence the dynamics of the course. What I do know is that caring for your students is the first step. In my experience, if you truly care about them, they will respect you. Therefore, finding the balance between using technology to engage them but maintaining the respect for the class and the classroom is easier.
One point that I want to mention is regarding the type of institution that you want to work for. In my case, I’m also very passionate about teaching and about my students, so I decided that I can’t work in a research institution. For me, it’s very important that the culture and the values of the institution that I work for match my personal values. An institution that values money from research more than student support and development is not a place that is appealing for me.
There are several institutions that are teaching focused and that have a lot of programs to support faculty members that wan to spend their time improving their learning environments and working towards their students’ success. So I believe when you have so much passion, it’s important you consider that in your job search. At the end the point is to be happy doing what we love right?
Homero
February 24, 2016 @ 6:33 pm
Thanks so much for your response Homero! I really appreciate your experiences. They are very helpful. Thanks so much for that. I like how you mentioned caring for students is key, and that it is important for respect, and all the great things. Thank you!
Also, about not teaching at a research institution– I really respect that, and believe in that. There is a far greater investment in students rather than research. I believe in the importance of both research and students. However, students come first! Thank you!
February 24, 2016 @ 6:19 pm
The last paragraph here is gold. It really makes a difference to have this attitude going in. Knowledge is like gold: you can have a never-ending supply, but it’s not worth something until you start to give it away.
February 24, 2016 @ 6:36 pm
Thanks for the comment Jonathan! I really appreciate that. In fact, sometimes it feels like we need to acquire a lot of knowledge in order to have sufficient knowledge to help our students passionately pursue their interests towards knowledge. Thanks so much for your comment!