My Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy consists in modeling an effective learning environment that cultivates students into investigators with critical thinking and strong communication skills. These skills are indispensable attributes of every successful scientist, and I intend to foster them in my students. Keeping in line with my teaching philosophy, my objectives are as follows:
(a) To aid students in the discovery of knowledge.
(b) To elucidate the relevance of biochemistry and the health sciences to the students' lives.
(c) To promote strong writing and speaking skills.
(d) To actively engage students in the learning process.
What follows are some examples of strategies that I will implement to achieve my objectives. To ensure that students understand core concepts, I intend to apply a “list and quiz” approach. This methodology consists in introducing at the beginning of each lecture the main information wished to be learned by the students in the form of bullet points. The list is accompanied by a short quiz related to the lesson, and the students complete the quiz during the course of the lecture. This strategy provides the main take-home messages at the very beginning of class, which is the period of optimal student focus, and uses the quiz as a means to engage the students’ minds. Just before the end of class, the answers to the questions are revealed and discussed by the students to promote active learning.
To emphasize the relevance of specific subjects to my students and to convey the relationship between science and society, we will discuss current events pertinent to biochemistry and the health sciences. I will ask students to share their knowledge of the subject matter and will also highlight how I have found the information useful. Such a simple activity can have profound effects on the students, and in my own experience as a teaching assistant and tutor I have found it to be very effective in orienting “undeclared majors” towards the sciences. Hence, this activity would be particularly applicable to introductory courses.
The teaching objective that I consider to be the most imperative is the fostering of strong verbal and written communication skills in my students. One way in which I intend to carry out this objective is by assigning different curricular topics to groups of three to four students, and each group will present and teach the topic to the class at some point throughout the semester. Such an exercise provides intellectual excitement, challenge and fun for students and allows them to become discoverers of knowledge rather than mere recipients of information. A second exercise that would significantly improve scientific communication is the reading and analysis of scientific peer-reviewed papers. In my classes I will implement some aspects of the C.R.E.A.T.E. method to expose students to scientific literature and develop in them an appreciation for the processes of science. The paper(s) will be discussed and debated in the classroom, and each student will be asked to write a summary of the published work. As highlighted in my CV, the C.R.E.A.T.E. method has the potential of being developed into an elective/special course.
In addition to fostering critical thinking, the above-mentioned pedagogical approaches promote scientific literacy and engage the students in the learning process. These methods are by no means static, and will undoubtedly undergo modifications and enrichment as my professional identity grows and as I implement valuable student suggestions. These techniques will also be applied in the laboratory whenever possible. Indeed, laboratory sessions will be closely tied to the lectures and will promote critical thinking. My students will receive hands-on experience in the scientific method to solve problems and prove/disprove hypotheses. I particularly enjoy the Socratic method and intend to use it to challenge each student in the laboratory. In my opinion, the most long-lasting learning takes place in the laboratory since this is where classroom knowledge is put to the test and where the passion and curiosity of a scientist is best conveyed. For this reason, I have a strong commitment to undergraduate student involvement in my research plans.
I am also a proponent of team-taught courses and believe that team teaching plays an essential role in a liberal arts education. This type of course cultivates a collaborative teaching environment that is indispensable for an interdisciplinary field, such as Biochemistry, which relies heavily on an effective collaboration between the departments of chemistry and biology. Furthermore, it exposes students to different perspectives and encourages them to take a more active role in the learning process. Summer elective courses are an ideal platform for team-taught courses, and I intend to implement this teaching strategy should the opportunity arise. To ensure continuity from topic to topic during a team-taught course, I intend to interweave the teaching partners’ perspectives into each presentation and/or lecture and ensure that the students see the interconnections between subjects.
To create a safe learning environment, I will encourage students to ask questions and give their views on the course material being taught. I also intend to utilize more contemporary methods of communicating subject material, such as online social networking platforms. These could be used to distribute assignments and quizzes, and as a means of contacting me outside office hours.
I hope this statement clearly portrays my strong vocation for teaching and my avid interest in pedagogical development.
(a) To aid students in the discovery of knowledge.
(b) To elucidate the relevance of biochemistry and the health sciences to the students' lives.
(c) To promote strong writing and speaking skills.
(d) To actively engage students in the learning process.
What follows are some examples of strategies that I will implement to achieve my objectives. To ensure that students understand core concepts, I intend to apply a “list and quiz” approach. This methodology consists in introducing at the beginning of each lecture the main information wished to be learned by the students in the form of bullet points. The list is accompanied by a short quiz related to the lesson, and the students complete the quiz during the course of the lecture. This strategy provides the main take-home messages at the very beginning of class, which is the period of optimal student focus, and uses the quiz as a means to engage the students’ minds. Just before the end of class, the answers to the questions are revealed and discussed by the students to promote active learning.
To emphasize the relevance of specific subjects to my students and to convey the relationship between science and society, we will discuss current events pertinent to biochemistry and the health sciences. I will ask students to share their knowledge of the subject matter and will also highlight how I have found the information useful. Such a simple activity can have profound effects on the students, and in my own experience as a teaching assistant and tutor I have found it to be very effective in orienting “undeclared majors” towards the sciences. Hence, this activity would be particularly applicable to introductory courses.
The teaching objective that I consider to be the most imperative is the fostering of strong verbal and written communication skills in my students. One way in which I intend to carry out this objective is by assigning different curricular topics to groups of three to four students, and each group will present and teach the topic to the class at some point throughout the semester. Such an exercise provides intellectual excitement, challenge and fun for students and allows them to become discoverers of knowledge rather than mere recipients of information. A second exercise that would significantly improve scientific communication is the reading and analysis of scientific peer-reviewed papers. In my classes I will implement some aspects of the C.R.E.A.T.E. method to expose students to scientific literature and develop in them an appreciation for the processes of science. The paper(s) will be discussed and debated in the classroom, and each student will be asked to write a summary of the published work. As highlighted in my CV, the C.R.E.A.T.E. method has the potential of being developed into an elective/special course.
In addition to fostering critical thinking, the above-mentioned pedagogical approaches promote scientific literacy and engage the students in the learning process. These methods are by no means static, and will undoubtedly undergo modifications and enrichment as my professional identity grows and as I implement valuable student suggestions. These techniques will also be applied in the laboratory whenever possible. Indeed, laboratory sessions will be closely tied to the lectures and will promote critical thinking. My students will receive hands-on experience in the scientific method to solve problems and prove/disprove hypotheses. I particularly enjoy the Socratic method and intend to use it to challenge each student in the laboratory. In my opinion, the most long-lasting learning takes place in the laboratory since this is where classroom knowledge is put to the test and where the passion and curiosity of a scientist is best conveyed. For this reason, I have a strong commitment to undergraduate student involvement in my research plans.
I am also a proponent of team-taught courses and believe that team teaching plays an essential role in a liberal arts education. This type of course cultivates a collaborative teaching environment that is indispensable for an interdisciplinary field, such as Biochemistry, which relies heavily on an effective collaboration between the departments of chemistry and biology. Furthermore, it exposes students to different perspectives and encourages them to take a more active role in the learning process. Summer elective courses are an ideal platform for team-taught courses, and I intend to implement this teaching strategy should the opportunity arise. To ensure continuity from topic to topic during a team-taught course, I intend to interweave the teaching partners’ perspectives into each presentation and/or lecture and ensure that the students see the interconnections between subjects.
To create a safe learning environment, I will encourage students to ask questions and give their views on the course material being taught. I also intend to utilize more contemporary methods of communicating subject material, such as online social networking platforms. These could be used to distribute assignments and quizzes, and as a means of contacting me outside office hours.
I hope this statement clearly portrays my strong vocation for teaching and my avid interest in pedagogical development.