Teaching Philosophy
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. ~ Benjamin Franklin
The scientific pursuit of knowledge in higher education is maximized in an environment that encourages asking and answering questions. Developing the students' enthusiasm to ask and answer questions is the cornerstone of critical thinking. A person, who has been taught how knowledge is acquired, has been taught a lasting valuable skill. To this end, I view my role as a learning facilitator who is responsible for organizing course materials so that students can maximize their own learning and become visionary focused individuals. I try to provide interesting interaction in the classroom to assist with motivation and enjoyment of the subject and personal and professionally enriching experiences. To do so, I provide training in skills of written and verbal communication; opportunities to develop critical thinking skills; basic factual information and an appreciation for the subject. I create a challenging yet supportive academic environment. The professional skills my students learn is primarily how to establish, frame and articulate scientific goals in a way that resonates with real-life situations.
I have both substantive and procedural objectives for each course I teach. In a substantive way, I introduce students to both theoretical and practical research problems. I encourage debate and critical assessment of course topics. Take home assignments, workshops, symposia, access to the World Wide Web, field trips and in-class discussions reflect this philosophy. For testing, I expect students to give specific answers because this is essential for knowledge dissemination. Research assignments focus on foundational skills that include hypothesis testing, critical literature reviews, innovation and creativity with regard to laboratory tools used and applying knowledge to real life case-studies. Besides, I continue to be enriched by my research interests and the teaching provided by students themselves.