​Teaching Philosophy

The goal of my teaching is to challenge my students to become engaged, self-directed learners with the ability to apply knowledge in their life. I believe that students learn best when they are actively involved in learning process and engaging in classroom. To achieve this goal, I (1) foster a student-centered learning environment, (2) have a variety of activities to accommodate students’ learning preference, (3) encourage them to learn from their peers, (4) provide opportunity for students to learn from their experience, and (5) continuously evaluate my effectiveness and adjust my teaching methods. 

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Students show a variety of interest in my course and retain information through different processes. Engagement in my class is emphasized when students have opportunities to feel a sense of control in their learning. I often combine student-led discussions and encourage them to tell stories in the classroom. Specifically, I incorporate small group work where students guide the discussion and exchange ideas. I also provide my real-life experiences in my classroom to build a personal connection with students. I am open to student challenges to my viewpoint and show respect about their ideas and work. Students are encouraged to connect course materials to their lives to develop a relationship with the course content. These methods promote interpersonal relationship, a sense of agency and competence, and a collaborative learning atmosphere that enhance enjoyment in learning by reinforcing student involvement. 

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Implementing various methods into my teaching to reach the majority of my students is a priority in my teaching. Every student has a way in which they best learn. It is possible that each student in my class has a different preferred learning style, which can make it difficult for me to become the most effective teacher. There are three major learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Students are asked to take the learning style inventory at the beginning of the course to understand their learning style, which also helps me decide how to accommodate the majority of my class. For instance, I can include more pictures, videos, slides, and flowcharts in my lecture if visual learners make up the majority of my students. Additionally, for students requiring a different instruction, I am available via email and during office hours. By incorporating diverse methods into my teaching, an inclusive learning environment is created where all students have the opportunity to succeed. 

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Peer teaching and learning have been frequently used in my courses. It is especially effective when my instruction does not provide my students with the highest quality learning experience. I believe course material is reinforced effectively and efficiently when students have opportunities to learn from and challenge each other. Peer learning is not a single, undifferentiated educational method. It comprises a broad range of two-way, reciprocal learning activities. Students involve in the sharing of knowledge, ideas and experience with each other when peer learning occurs. It is through interaction and collaboration with one another that students feel the autonomy and support in their learning. For example, students in my class work in small groups discuss how they decided the correct answer on assignments. Each group then exchange their methods with other groups to further reinforce peer learning. Conducting course content in this way keeps students motivated and increase their effort through peer collaboration. 

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I believe learning from experience is a crucial way for adults to learn. No matter it is recalling previous experience or experience happening in class, it helps students understand the practical application of course materials. I often design my course with a lab/activity portion to allow for experiential learning to take place. For example, course lectures about sport and exercise psychology are reinforced by exercise motivation activity requiring students to fill out a sport motivation survey and determine their exercise behavior stage in the transtheoretical model. They reflect on the effectiveness of the measure by comparing survey results with the stage they decide. Students then analyze the reasons for consistent/inconsistent results. In my principles of human movement course, I demonstrate how Fitt’s law discussed during lecture is widely used by asking students to think about their experience of driving a car. I further reinforce the experiential learning by having students take a look their laptop keyboard, which is another application of Fitt’s law. This method of learning by doing shows that experience is the adult learner’s living textbook. 

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Based on my students and the course that I teach, I continuously adjust my teaching goals and methods. The student-centered learning environment I create by improving engagement, implementing diverse methods, encouraging peer learning, and opportunities to experiential learning enable students to learn effectively and apply their knowledge confidently.