My teaching practice is guided by the following beliefs:
Capable and Motivated Learners – As an educator, I believe that everyone is capable of becoming a successful learner and performer. I believe that everyone can be motivated to learn, and that the instructor plays an important role in helping students recognize their strengths and weaknesses, keeping them motivated to learn during their learning processes, and assisting them accomplish their educational goals.
Instruction Tailored to Learners’ Needs – In order to help students keep motivated to learn and maximize their full potential, I believe learning content should be tailored to their needs. I try hard to avoid teaching students knowledge for the sake of knowledge. I always look for ways to help them see relevance of the learning content to their educational goals and professional practice.
Effective Communications – In doing so, I believe that I need to maintain two-way communications with students, and to be open-minded and tolerant to ambiguity. To students, I am not only a subject matter expert, but also an advisor, a tour guide, a counselor, and a colleague. I believe that establishing and maintaining effective communications with students is the key in becoming a successful educator.
Priorities in Teaching
My top priorities in teaching are described below:
- Preparation is the top priority. Instruction is a prescriptive science. The quality of prepared instruction often determines the quality of the instructional outcomes. During the preparation phase of each course that I teach, I look at individual students’ records to learn more about their educational goals and interests, and I adjust my instructional content to their needs as much as I can. I also conduct an entry-knowledge assessment (ENKA) during the first week of the class, the data of which help me recognize their confidence levels and determine when and to whom I need to provide more guidance or more challenging tasks. Good preparation serves as a foundation for quality instruction, and it is always my top priority in teaching.
- Evaluation is the second top priority. As I constantly seek innovative and effective teaching methods, I conduct action research and evaluations in my classroom. Over the last two decades, I have observed changes in OPWL students’ demographics and interests. Continuous evaluation and on-going modification of instruction is the key to continuous improvement in instructional outcomes. I also collaborate with STEM faculty to conduct educational research in their classrooms to help them achieve similar goals. Such evaluation efforts have resulted in many publications in academic journals and conference proceedings. I will continue to conduct evaluations of my own teaching and educational research in classrooms in collaboration with other faculty.
- Student mentoring for ‘Accomplishments Beyond the Classroom (ABC)’ is the third priority. I do not think that my job of teaching ends inside the classroom; actually students can produce more valuable accomplishments outside the classroom by applying their new knowledge and skills to their job, publishing their class projects and research papers in journals, or presenting them in professional conferences. I see myself as a mentor who can help them make the transition from accomplishments inside the classroom to accomplishments beyond the classroom. As a result, a total of 45+ students have produced 45+ publications or presentations. I will continue to help students accomplish beyond the classroom.
- Promoting evidence-based practices among students is the fourth priority. During their program, OPWL students have ample opportunities to learn how to use systematic approaches to improve learning and performance outcomes. Specially during project-based courses such as OPWL 530 Evaluation, students actually gather data (evidence) from various sources (stakeholders and existing documents) using different data collection methods (e.g., surveys, interviews, observations, tests, and extant data reviews). They triangulate the results obtained from multiple data sources before they reach their conclusions. Then, they provide their client with evidence-based recommendations.