As a future faculty member, it is vital for me to be able to reflect upon past and present experiences to contemplate and process how said encounters shape my teaching philosophy. With this in mind, it is my intention to examine a few detrimental examples as well as several positive instances from past classroom experiences which I currently draw upon to assist in augmenting my career pedagogically. I used to think that a teacher could hardly ever have a significant affect on a student—after all, they are just one of many instructors that the student will have over what could be a lifetime of learning experiences. Then, over the past few years of my graduate work, I saw the affect that one good professor can have on her or his students, and I knew I had found my life's career in teaching. By teaching others, I am able to combine my fascination with communicating effectively with my enjoyment of helping others and interacting interpersonally. Becoming a professor will also enable me to pursue research in whatever aspect of the field I enjoy the most; yet through it all, I will be able to help others develop their most important attribute: the mind.
All of the above objectives can be further investigated through one’s personal teaching philosophy. To be clear, a teaching philosophy can be conceptualized as a beneficial tool for self-reflection. A philosophy of teaching will explain my reasons for teaching, descriptions of how I teach, and justifications for my beliefs about teaching. Naturally, my teaching philosophy will likely evolve as I gain even more experience and place myself in new and different situations. With these premises in mind, my main concern involves piquing students’ interest without being an entertainer. I find it extremely gratifying to be able to offer lectures, concepts, and examples to students who may have never contemplated the basic theoretical frameworks of communication studies. At the basic introductory level I remain enthralled with potentially illuminating the “building blocks” by which so many students can base much of their interdisciplinary endeavors.
As a teacher, I am comprehensive in my approach. I have a versatile stance on the process of gleaning knowledge while teaching. My primary passion is working and effectively communicating with people; hence my extensive education within the field. I am an individual who helps students through listening, learning, and leading. By way of the written word, lecture, alternative media, and various other impactful examples, I have helped to convey corporate messages, resolve conflicts on various levels both scholastically and commercially, and have contributed to various team-oriented environments. For example, my work as a former Teaching Assistant effectively showcased these initiatives. I was able to enact many of my personal objectives in-class and out-of-class. I began to realize that the majority of my teaching skills were absorbed in face-to-face conversations or meetings beyond the classroom where pragmatic lessons were learned in personal settings. Being able to reach students almost always occurred after class.
To augment my unique approach to teaching, I am also a viable adherent of and for communication studies. For various epistemological assumptions I am adept at providing a link between scientific research and practical application with a rare dual perspective combining academic expertise and pragmatic experience; this enables me to bring authority and compassion to my classroom. Additionally, I am a dynamic role model for the ideas that I present. My personal life experiences and auto-ethnographic familiarity within various interpersonal and small group settings provide an important perspective and inspiration for my teaching.
While currently serving as the Assistant Basic Course Director (ABCD) for the introductory speech course on the campus of BGSU, I have learned many lessons regarding the world of academe and have realized that I have two sets of people to whom I must report to and be accountable. First, I have to be sure to fill the expectations of the department and the Course Director for whom I’m working. Composing exams, responding to emails, serving as a first line of response for student's and teaching assistant’s questions, or performing simple administrative tasks keep the Course Director from becoming overwhelmed by the demands of the course. It can be very hard on everyone when things get out of order therefore I realize that this experience allows me a beneficial practice in time management and foundational familiarity with a large course made up by a myriad of sections. This is the business side of the job that can be challenging, but I find that these types of coordinating skills and structured conversations with a diverse amount of perspectives (students, faculty, staff, and teaching assistants alike) will only prolong my growth as a flexible and organized teacher. The second group to whom the ABCD is responsible is clearly the students. There are several things, I think, students need from me and the teaching assistants that I coordinate.
Taking precedence over the administrative aspects of the profession, as any teacher will quickly understand, one must have a solid understanding of the course material and/or conceptual/theoretical frameworks that will be covered as well.
For a number of students, especially in communication studies, coursework might be extremely challenging, and in some ways seem completely unrelated to their plan of study. If the teacher doesn't thoroughly grasp the material, she or he has no chance to convey the key points to the students. Conversely, other students might find that communication studies and particularly the concepts covered in a curriculum similar to the introductory speech class at BGSU are very basic and overly simplified. Students may not feel challenged or find that basic communication skills are “common sense.” It is a teacher’s job to bridge this gap, maintaining student’s attention while also emphasizing content which may illuminate vital application opportunities. I would argue that good teachers consistently seek out and practice innovative means by which they can appease all types of learning styles.
With this in mind, the most vital aspect of effective teaching, in my opinion, is to motivate students, allowing for them to develop an affinity for the subject. Some students will become excited by envisioning the future, others will express eagerness to learn with their potential for service to society, and finally some will be motivated by the prospect of a challenging career, or perhaps a rewarding career. A teacher must utilize various methods to make it possible for students to connect with the content which they are being presented. Rarely do we have the pleasure to witness a teacher that has elevated this knack to an art form, but I can say that I personally strive to accomplish this goal.
To further characterize my teaching philosophy, I will say that I try to address the students’ aforementioned learning styles while also alliterating the teacher’s mind set. For the well-informed teacher, there is a wealth of material with vast theoretical foundation which has been developed over years of studying a specific topic. For the student, depending on the interest level in the course, the approach can range from matching the professor's interest, to a sort of bottom line approach: “How do I do my homework, what will be on the exam, and what do I need to know to succeed in this course?” A good teacher must be able to understand the theory and the students well enough that she or he is able to teach the topic in a way that parallels the student's interest level. For the most dedicated students, I must be able to nearly match their abilities and explain even the most complicated theoretical issues (or at least be able to acknowledge when to say that I don't know something and seek another teacher’s help or consult another source.) For students whose interest lies elsewhere, I must discern what she or he wishes to take away from the course and offer that expectation accordingly.
I think it is equally important that a teacher be available to their students. Office hours should be scheduled for both the student's and teacher’s convenience, and said hours should be designed to supplement the time that the teacher is available during the week. I think it's also essential to note that availability isn't only measured by time. It has been my observation that students want to (but often don't) feel comfortable approaching teachers if it has been conveyed to them that it is inconvenient to meet or more work to schedule a time to sit down and talk than what is expected by both parties. If students don't feel as though they are able to call upon you even for the simplest of questions, they probably won’t turn to you for help. It's somewhat of a cliché to say I've always tried to be here for my students, but I believe they've never hesitated to approach me due to my desire for a genuine rapport and empathy that I have for each of them personally. I can say with relative certainty that no student has ever left my office hours feeling like they had been unwelcome or that their questions were insignificant.
In this vein, I believe very strongly that prospective instructors should only teach if they enjoy doing it. This is a difficult epistemological stance to hold in a time when there is a technological push for learning via the internet and other alternative forms of media. Yet I still feel it is better to allow students to congregate in a classroom with a teacher who cares and who is interested in teaching, collaborating, and having face to face discussions. When instructing various lectures pertinent to interpersonal communication theory, I find that my energy, style, creativeness, and attention to detail allow for my students to engage in various concepts in a positive and open-minded manner. Furthermore, in remembering the various techniques that I utilized to gain my classroom’s attention, I recollect that my organizational abilities and consistency in reminding the students of various deadlines and assignment requirements were absolutely vital in meeting the class’ objectives.
I can say that the key to my teaching philosophy is laughter and the realization that life (as well as the classroom) is a comedic stage on which we are destined to make mistakes. We can laugh off even the most complex of issues; we can continue to strive for new alternatives no matter how many challenges may arise during our teaching careers. I have seen the difference between teachers who enjoy what they do and those that do not. A good teacher is able to “roll with the punches” while also advocating for ethical conflict resolution.
My consideration for ethical practices and my knack for problem-solving/conflict resolution have bolstered my position as a personable, interesting character that many students enjoy working with. For example, when given the opportunity to lecture to a group of inmates in a low-level prison setting in Freeland, MI regarding basic level interviewing skills, I was met with positive feedback of my originality, style, and understanding to the details of their unique situations. Various types of students with different backgrounds (such as the inmates) have been able to identify with my imaginative examples and empathetic illustrations because I have given a lot of thought to their individual learning requirements. Many of the prison inmates that I taught were reentering society after long prison sentences. Ethically speaking, I was able embody a good teacher by being honest and tackling sensitive questions (e.g. “How does a person address her/his absence from the workforce for the past twenty years?”) with tactful and constructive responses.
In my early days as a graduate student I realized that this was my career calling; that this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I genuinely care about the students' success in the courses I teach, and I continue to convey concepts/interests in a way that students can relate to. Moreover, I take my students' grades as a personal reflection of my work in helping them understand the material that I present, and more importantly, I consider my students' success to be a measure of how much they are gaining from being in college. By becoming a professor of communication studies, I have the ability to stay in the field I find to be so vital to social experiences, and at the same time use my career to benefit students in a positive manner. I have been told that I have the ability to explain things in a coherent and understandable manner, and this has helped me with my teaching. In a time when a lot of my peers are unsure what career they want for the rest of their lives, it is refreshing to know what I will do. By teaching I can remain in the communication field, continuing my research, and simultaneously I might also help others to learn while possibly challenge the status quo. As teachers of communication we are truly working with the people who will make the decisions that shape our futures, and consequently, I find comfort in the realization that I might be helping to define which decisions they'll make.
Sincerely, The Bullshit Guru Extraordinaire
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