TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
My pedagogy is based on three critical elements: creating a safe learning environment, establishing relevancy, and modeling critical thinking skills. I have a democratic teaching style which involves engaging my students through questioning and encouragement, being open and extensively available, and employing a great sense of humor. First and foremost, it is critical to build a safe learning environment, particularly in developmental writing classes in which most of the students have negative associations with topics such as reading and writing. To achieve this end, the first couple of days are devoted to exposing old myths such as: “Only those interested in writing as a profession need to hone their writing skills” and “Because I have to work hard at my writing, I’m not as good of a writer as you”; and dealing with the students’ learned defeatist attitudes: “I’ve always been bad at writing; I’m not a fast reader, therefore I’m ignorant.” Exposing these myths is coupled with learning that the writing process involves creation, revising, editing, and proofreading, and learning to be aware of and discipline one’s internal critic. This typically acts as a catalyst in leveling the playing field. Everyone knows that we all have to work through the writing process to achieve a strong piece of writing and we all have an internal critic who can hurt us or help us depending upon our ability to discipline the timing or his/her comments. Allowing the students to peer review reinforces the safe learning environment as it reflects each and every student’s inherent value as a reader. I encourage my students to give feedback strictly based on their understanding of the piece (not on grammar per se), advising the writer how to achieve greater clarity and organization. I require the students to turn in peer review worksheets to ensure their time is used wisely and that they are taking full advantage of each other as readers. Another way in which I ensure a safe environment and encourage my students to write is by requiring a journal entry per week. As long as they turn in one complete page, they earn the full points, regardless of what they say. This lets them know that they are not being judged for expressing an opinion or even on the quality of their writing. When I assess my students’ essays, I typically use an essay grading sheet that outlines what I look for when I assess my students’ essays. It breaks up the grading into categories of: organization, cohesion, essay components (including MLA format), and grammar/syntax. Each section lists more specifically what it covers and states how many points are allotted for that category. I provide extensive written commentary as well as grammatical editing on their first essay. As the semester progresses, I gradually lessen the grammatical edits, leaning more towards informing them of general areas that need work, requiring that they find the errors and correct them for subsequent drafts. I continue to provide narrative comments, conferencing with each student individually once or twice in the semester. In order to boost my students’ awareness of their habits, I ask that they keep an assessment log, which outlines their tendency of error on each essay, with the expectation that the same errors should not be recurring from the first essay to the last essay. One of the techniques for first becoming of aware of and second learning to quiet one’s critic is free writing. This as well as journaling about one’s awareness on this critical topic allows students to discipline their critic to be quiet during the creative stage of the writing process and active during the revising and editing stages of the writing process. Just as critical is enlightening my students on the relevancy of reading, writing, and critical thinking skills to their lives as students, parents, employees, employers, and citizens. My strong background in the corporate world serves me well as I can speak with credibility about how rare and important writing skills are in corporate America and how having them can lead to greater opportunities and promotions, regardless of one’s job role. I use my own experiences as an example and then allow the students to share their stories. Often, I will have them do a free writing exercise in which they write about the ways in which they can now see writing and reading skills as relevant to their lives. Critical thinking is another life skill that I strive to impart to my students through their English course(s). Choosing literature that touches on timeless subjects, journaling on topics inspired by the literature and contemporary issues allows my students to explore their thinking on a wide variety of controversial topics and issues and adds relevancy to their reading and writing pursuits. Classroom discussions allow the students to verbalize their opinions and embrace the concept of debate, thereby experiencing the power of the words to persuade and the necessity of questioning. I believe this drives my students to desire to express themselves better. A small portion of their grade is based on an oral presentation, typically conducted at the end of the semester when everyone is comfortable with each other. They are assessed on their ability to articulate and present a topic. This is an important skill in our world and one I believe everyone should develop. Last, but not least, I practice what I teach, keeping myself current, enthusiastic, and engaged with the world.