Teaching Philosophy
Purpose of Adult Education: Our individual success as working, contributing member of the larger society of which we are members is dependent to a great extent on our educational level and continuing engagement with learning throughout our adult lives. Preparing students for changing work environments, changing global economies and changing personal interests is a challenge and a trust that cannot be taken lightly, but is, at the same time, both a privilege and a responsibility.
Adults come to college with a variety of experiences and expectations for their own learning and for their own ability to acquire new experience and new skills which will help them advance in their present or in new careers or in ways which will help to enrich them personally. To these ends is adult education dedicated; for these ends is it committed. Our responsibility as educators is to help produce graduates who are equipped for the rigors of university study, the vagaries of ever-changing career prospects and the challenges of personal growth and development.
Intelligence and Adult Development: I am aware that college is about more than formalized lectures. I believe in the ideas about multiple intelligences which are distinct gateways through which preferential learning occur most efficiently. Howard Gardner discusses in his work at least seven of these distinct modes for learning: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, body-kinesthetic and interpersonal. Learning paths can be created by using a student’s stronger preferences for learning to enhance the ones which are weaker or less preferred, making it possible to view, rehearse and learn material in a multimodal way so that retention of the material is more likely to occur in the long term.
Adult Learning Styles: Each student is unique, with combinations of learning traits, experiences and preferences. It is the teacher’s responsibility to understand these different learning styles students have and to use this as a way of helping the student maximize their abilities to acquire information in each learning situation. The course should be constructed in such a way, the teaching done in such a way to make more it more likely that students in the class can achieve the goals and objectives laid out and be successful learners.
The Classroom Environment: The teacher’s role is to structure the learning environment so that student success is possible. The environment should be as inclusive of as many learning styles as are present in the student population in the class; the class should be structured so that there are clear rules and expectations regarding the management of the class; it is important to help the students feel at ease about unfamiliar expectations and about the expectations of college in general; and it is important to develop interpersonal relationships with the students that are based on respect, dignity and professional pathos while maintaining a relaxed atmosphere in which there is time for questioning, personal response, and in which relationships between the students, material and the instructor can be nurtured and grown.
Methods: Different materials call for different methods of presentation. I believe that in a inclusive classroom, group work should constitute a large portion of the content discovery, but that there is also room for and reason for lecture, individual time for research and reading, demonstration, the use of knowledgeable guests and adequate time for outside work and discovery based on what is learned in the classroom.
Copy & paste to friend: (Click inside box; Ctrl + C to copy; Ctrl + V to paste)
|
|
read more blogs!
|
melodygirl
|
Oct 30 @ 5:42PM
|
|
|
thankyou .Thats interesting , what a lot of Background knowledge people need to do teaching and sounds like hard work
|
|
leprichaun_magic
|
Oct 30 @ 5:55PM
|
|
,, A lot of work and back ground study ,, must be very rewarding though? 
|
|
summerbreeze916
|
Oct 30 @ 6:01PM
|
|
I like the way you 'tailor' each student's needs. It keeps things fresh for not only the student, but for the teacher, as well. Keep up the excellent work I am certain you do. 
|
|
butterfly943
|
Oct 30 @ 6:01PM
|
|
|
We all need good teachers...Im sure your one
|
|
equuisdancer
|
Oct 30 @ 6:18PM
|
|
Book Reports...  
|
|
jayej
|
Oct 30 @ 6:20PM
|
|
It is by and large a good philosphy, and shows you take your profession seriously with good aspirations for those that come through your doors.
But as one who did their research paper on Stigmas and Sterotyping I have to take issue with your first paragraph.
continuing engagement with learning throughout our adult lives This is absolutely true, however;
Our individual success as working, contributing member of the larger society of which we are members is dependent to a great extent on our educational level This is the kind of statement that ever so subtly insinuates that someone is "less than" in a larger society because they do not have a formal education. that somehow they can not contribute. The piece of paper may or may not be a good thing in greater society, but a persons' achievment or ability to achieve is by no means tied to it.
Individual success is measured by the mark one leaves on a larger society. Individual success is measured by the character of an individual.
Individual success is measured by how willing you are to work towards achieving your desired goal.
If as you say success is dependent on educational level than you have already limited the ability of some individuals to be sucessful. That has then become a stigma. Stigmas generally become attached to stereotypes.
Example. Success as a working, contributing member of society is dependent on our educational level. - Stigma
Those who do not further their education are not willing to become successful members of our society. - Stereotype
Just my two cents on the opening paragraph..........actually the rest of your blog says alot about your commitment and ideals for higher education.
|
|
funisnumber1
|
Oct 31 @ 10:57AM
|
|
Thank you so much for sharing your philosophy. This kind of thing trips my trigger.
The Ned Herrmann Whole Brain Learning Model is alive and well in the educational system. I see it being launched in elementary and now secondary education in Oklahoma. It would be great to see it continue at the university level for adult learners.
I was one of those kids whose right leg was constantly bouncing and my eyes seemed to always be looking out the window. Didn't mean I wasn't soaking in what was being presented to me. I just needed the extra stimuli, as a very tactile learner. Good thing we had recess back then, or else I would have been a miserable student. I do my current work with headphones, music blasting. I need light and color and a "petting zoo" sometimes to grasp concepts clearly and effectively.
I worked for YEARS in advertising and communications for the High Technology sector, for a Fortune 50 company who shall remain nameless. We had to use this model continuously for internal corporate training to reach the masses and ensure that everyone was going to walk out of the class with at least 75% of the goals stuck in their noggins. Just because they were adults didn't mean they could pay attention to reading lists. Bullet points. Adult learners still learn the way they did as children. Via however they fall in the brain hemispheres.
The advertising community already knows this about people and use it AGAINST you to influence your buying habits. That's why you'll see 5 different versions of the same commercial, and 20 different ways to send it to you. On the back of a scratch and sniff card, via the radio waves, on that billboard, as the swag you get with branding on it (like that useless key fob or flashlight, etc.). If only the educational community came on board with the idea that not everyone absorbs information in the same way.
I also believe, as an aspiring educator (I'm back in college to get my teaching degree) that academia can exist solely for the purpose of academia, and in order not to be a hypocrite about my the profession I would like to enter, I remind myself daily that I'm not going to be one of THOSE who are in it for tenure. My father was a forensics engineer for Lloyds of London and only had 2 semesters of college. He told me my entire life "what one man can do another can do, and all that knowledge is now found in books darlin'." He was also a prime example of a left brain linear thinker. SO not me.
So, I agree with your comments but put my own spin on them. Our roles in advancing our society being pivotal upon our educational levels don't necessarily have to come from academia. My son makes a TON of money, is philanthropic in his endeavors and shares the wealth with a lot of not for profit, has no education and no real job, save for his ability to play poker. That's right, he's a poker player. He's a great citizen. He pays his taxes so that we can keep providing essential services to others. He shops locally to help ensure the local economy thrives. He's a Big Brother and mentor to at risk youth. He's a good guy. With no formal education, save the school of hard knocks after high school. What he learns about people and his continuing curiosity about learning new things doesn't come from a formal institution. Just life. I feel strongly that he advances society by his involvement in it.
We can advance if we keep on learning. Education comes in all forms, not necessarily from the brick and mortar campus. Teachers come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are the cruel person making your life miserable. Sometimes, they are actually college professors.
peace
|
|
|