My experiences as a teacher have shown me that good teaching is about more than just effectively passing knowledge to students. Through interactions with students, teachers can empower students and give them a sense of self-worth that is beyond their academic ability. Teachers can lead students to take ownership of their learning and become lifelong learners.
The first time I felt dignified and appreciated in college was during my second year. Besides being an excellent lecturer, my electrical circuits professor was the first willing to treat as being worth her time, despite my academic struggles. This experience transformed my academic trajectory and life. This also taught me how the difference a good teacher can make on their students. Ever since, I had made my goal to become a teacher like her.
As a teacher, I find tremendous satisfaction in seeing students grow. I enjoy sharing with students in their struggles and victories as students. Having deeply struggled as a college student, I understand what it means not to succeed even after giving one’s best, therefore I can sympathize with students that are struggling and put myself in their shoes.
Learning is not simply an academic endeavor. The most successful professionals are not those born with great talent, but those who are passionate about their craft. Similarly, learning is an emotional experience. When students are emotionally engaged, they will not only learn better, but also exceed the bars we set for them.
In an environment where students feel valued as human beings, regardless of academic performance, I’ve found that students are more willing to learn new material that might be hard or intimidating. I believe that learning is best where students feel safe to make mistakes and not be judged by the teacher or their peers.
Difficult problems need to be tackled by specialists with different expertises aiding each other create something greater than sum of their knowledge. Similarly, students come from different backgrounds and know different topics at different levels, a good teacher should not only recognize that, but welcome it and encourage students to help each other learn.
Good teaching starts long before the semester starts. A well structured course is one way to aid students perform better by setting their expectations early on, specially when the bar is set high. Clear class policies, rubrics and assignment schedules require time and intentionality, but benefit both student and teacher overall.
The relationship between students and professors is protected when students understand that tardiness rules and other policies have been set by the syllabus instead of an arbitrary whim. At the same time, students appreciate when a professor is open to reason and be lenient on some of these policies when appropriate.
Teachers should encourage students to take ownership of their learning, while also offering as much support as necessary. In this way, responsibility is not divided, but rather shared between teacher and student. One way to encourage ownership is by using active learning techniques and allowing students to spend time solidifying the knowledge individually.
I believe that most assessments should be formative, some summative and none punitive. When students feel their teacher is teaching them punitively, the environment for learning is ruined. Formative assessments aid students understand what they understand and what they don’t and help them respond to it. I believe in assessing often so that students do not build knowledge on top of a faulty foundation.
I have taught a wide range of classes from introduction to calculus to non-STEM student to advanced senior level engineering classes. Each one proved to be an excitingly challenging experience. The introduction to calculus was interesting as most students took it as a required course and were not particularly interested in mathematics. By asking them early whether they were interested and clearly stating that “mathematics is difficult, but we were on a journey together” really helped them to be open to learn.
On the other hand, teaching engineering course is doubly satisfying as I’m passionate about engineering itself and being able to solve real world problems. I believe it is helpful to students to always see the connection and the end goal of theories. While excessive focus on practical applications can often blind students to more possible applications of theory, students who know how important the theory is and how it is applied will be more willing to listen to what the theory is.
Of particular interest to me are design and open-ended laboratory courses, in which students are allowed to implement, create and expand their knowledge. One of the great implicit lessons one learns in college is to learn how to learn and be a lifelong learner. Design courses give students the opportunity to go beyond what is shown in class and also learn important skills, such as time and project management, group and presentation skills and allows them to see that they are capable of creating something new out of the knowledge they’ve acquired.
I have a strong personal motivation for teaching well, because I have benefited from having great teachers and therefore I can and feel driven to pay this kindness forward to my students and to empower them to become lifelong learners. Experience and theory have taught me many helpful concepts, but I believe the foundation lies on seeing one’s own students as being inherently valuable and investing in them.