TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

I believe that an effective teacher is one who reaches as many students as possible. The classroom experience must be as engaging as it is informative to truly make an impact on the student. Therefore, students should be encouraged to think independently about the material and undertake exploratory learning strategies. While individual attention isn’t always possible to each student, the classroom environment should encourage interaction and the free exchange of ideas.

Information that has been processed at a deeper level will tend to be retained longer. To facilitate this, I encourage my students to learn by discovery whenever possible. Demonstrations and exercises that illustrate the principles behind the material in a vivid way should be integrated into lectures. Motivating the students to learn on their own is just as, if not more important than a grasp of the material, because no matter how firm the grasp, unused knowledge will fade. A motivation to learn, however, can be lifelong and result in tangible influence in the students’ success.