I embrace teaching
as an opportunity to inspire and empower young minds to be architects
and engineers. As a teacher, it is my goal to enhance student
learning as a transformative experience. Ideally, I want students
to feel personally changed by their participation in a course
I am teaching.
Promoting an understanding
that social and economical forces shape the construction and utilization
of knowledge is central to my philosophy of teaching because it
helps students sharpen critical thinking skills. I work to encourage
students to challenge their understanding of the basic behavior
and theory, but at the same time I apply "real world"
significance to the subject. This helps students see boundaries
whether personal or social as constructed, and affords them an
opportunity to challenge and resolve them.
In an informal atmosphere
learning is most likely to occur when students become personally
engaged with the material and perceive the subject matter to be
directly relevant to their own lives. it is important that a high
level of mutual respect is achieved between the teacher and the
student, because without respect, the education process can not
be optimized. While students must ultimately take responsibility
for their own learning, a teacher can often inspire their desire
to learn.
Learning about the
students I teach and listening to their experiences has helped
me to (re)consider ways of making course material relevant and
fostering critical thinking skills. I have taught several undergraduate
courses and labs. I am passionate about finding the most effective
ways of stimulating and sustaining intellectual growth among those
who enter my classroom. Learning is a complex process that is
individual, content and context specific. As a teacher, I am attentive
to these factors and work to be flexible, adapting my approaches
according to the needs of learners, subject matter and setting.
While my teaching objectives
vary depending upon the course level and content, my philosophy
serves to inform my practice. In designing course format and evaluation
requirements, I strive to optimize student engagement and success.
At the undergraduate level, class format is varied and generally
includes my own presentations accompanied by a written outline
for students to follow, questions or creative exercises for stimulating
class discussion along with various exercises as they pertain
to each particular topic.
Because teamwork and
communications are critical to both an architect's and engineer's
success, I continue to alter the courses to expand the student's
opportunities for team activities. By their very nature, team
activities require communication. Student teams are challenged
to solve design problems, develop independent study reports, and
even take a test. In addition, I work to influence learning that
occurs outside the classroom by supplementing class time with
a wide range of teaching/learning activities including reading,
formal and informal writing assignments, internet searches, oral
histories, and social action projects. Providing access to my
expertise is also a priority in my teaching. I actively encourage
dialogue with students during office hours, by appointment, telephone
and email. Additionally, I regularly strive to improve my teaching
by seeking student feedback, talking with peers, attending teaching
seminars, reading and experimenting with new methods.
Teaching is a privileged
position that demands humility as much as respect. It is crucial
that teachers recognize the power inherent in their role and are
self-reflective about their actions. In my teaching, I work to
be mindful of my position as a role model of the kind of learning
I strive to promote among students. Transformative learning is
a reciprocally educative endeavor - informative and uplifting
for teachers and students alike. It is about "opening hearts
and minds
" and changing lives for all those involved
in the process. I know I am successful in my teaching when students
tell me that they have learned "to see the social world through
a new lens" and "to think more critically." These
are tools of empowerment and rewards of transformative teaching
and learning.
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