Teaching Philosophy

I believe in scaffolding student independence. 

For me, that means providing students with the guidance they need to make informed decisions, and it means giving them the tools they need to understand the realities in which they live and the potential outcomes of their choices. As a teacher, it is my role to give them a supportive environment where they can, in equal parts, make mistakes and achieve successes.

When suitable, I gravitate toward project-based learning, because it gives students agency over what they learn. I aim to be a provider of the materials and information they need to succeed in order to facilitate their exploration of the topics they find most engaging and meaningful, and long-term projects, like papers, videos, websites, or other constructed deliverables give students that opportunity. At the same time, I have found that long-term projects function best as summative assessments. Short, formative quizzes and tests present a unique motivator for memorization of important terminology and concepts, so I employ them in conjunction with long-term projects.

To echo the words of a close mentor, "I believe in carrots, not sticks." Those words articulate my beliefs about both incentives and classroom management. I advocate for a movement away from cold-calling toward incentivized, optional participation, whether using bonus points or other offerings. 

Through my work with accessibility, it has also become abundantly clear to me that creating an individual-focused learning environment is essential. Students do not fall into neat boxes; there are not "types" of learners. There are, simply, learners—in all their multitudes, with all their multitudinous needs, desires, and interests. By engaging in communicative planning with my students, clearly articulating learning goals and their importance in and relevance to their day-to-day lives, and offering flexible deliverables and deadlines, I can maintain high expectations for all students while giving them an adaptive space in which to do their best learning.

I also work diligently to incorporate critical reflection practices into my teaching, whether through feedback surveys or end-of-semester evaluations. I am deeply aware of the power I wield as an educator over my students' lives; critical reflection helps me to confront my shortcomings and implement strategies to address them. Each and every student is a unique person on their own learning journey, and, as the teacher, I am able to help them discover what that means—but I cannot guide my students through that journey if I do not participate in it too.

Ultimately, as the role of instruction continues to grow in my life, I know that the importance of how I carry it out grows too. I look forward to giving my students opportunities to learn and grow, not just as students, but as whole, independent, individual people. 

Most importantly, I look forward to providing them with the skills they need to grow the self-confidence to become independent thinkers and learners—who do not need me anymore.

Written November 2022, Updated July 2023