Teaching Philosophy
Education is not simply the transfer of knowledge; it is not a ‘one way’ flow of information from instructor to student. Education is a collaborative effort between instructor and student. My responsibility to students as an instructor can be described in two broad categories: to critically and creatively engage students with the fundamental knowledge and principles demanded from their discipline, and to encourage students to take initiative and responsibility for their own learning.
My Teaching Style
I have implemented various teaching strategies to captivate my students. Much of my in-person teaching experience lies within facilitating small lab/tutorial classes. I employ experiential learning – when students critically appraise information and ideas gained from the experience or activity – by implementing examples, in-class activities, or case studies into my instruction methodology. These teaching strategies enable me to achieve the component of my teaching philosophy whereby I promote critical thinking, analytical skills, problem solving and group work. Additionally, since the labs are conducted by the students themselves, it promotes the second aspect of my teaching philosophy by giving students a sense of ownership over their work, from both a participation and data collection standpoint. I construct report questions to promote critical thinking as students may be more readily able to discuss issues with the methodology or the results due to the hands-on experience gained from carrying out the experiment themselves. I further challenge my students’ critical thinking by asking them how they would apply what they have learned through this experience to a different scenario, demonstrating the carry-over effects to different examples and events encountered in every-day tasks.
With regards to answering student questions, I have multiple approaches. At times, it is necessary to simply answer their question. My approach with in-class questions is to pose the question back to the entire class as a means of diagnostic assessment and to promote collaboration among peers. When working with students one-on-one or in small groups, I prefer to answer student questions by asking them questions about related content to enable them to answer their original question on their own. I do this to promote critical thinking and ownership of learning.
My Classroom Environment
I am an energetic and enthusiastic instructor. I create a relaxed and open atmosphere in my classrooms. I add humour to my lectures. I am approachable. I achieve these aspects of instruction by learning student’s names, inquiring as to how their day or week has been thus far and inquiring about their future goals and aspirations. I move throughout my classroom when teaching to engage with students in all corners of the room and to allow them to ask/answer questions in a more individualized manner.
To implement transparency in my teaching, I ensure that I share my teaching philosophy statement with my students on the first day of class. I have found this to be a successful approach to demonstrate to students how much I value my teaching, and why I approach university teaching the way I do. I also achieve transparency in my teaching by explaining to students why assignments are designed in a specific manner, why there are different types of test questions, and why we engage in the interactive learning activities I develop. This transparency has enabled me to achieve a strong rapport with my students.
I have successfully implemented a strategy to address student wellbeing in my classroom. My strategy is to begin my lesson with a “Words of Wisdom” slide. These words of wisdom cover a wide array of topics, pertaining to both academics and life lessons. For example, with respect to academics I have discussed: “Where / What Mental Health Services are Available”, “Study Methods”, and “Planning Courses for Future Academic Goals”. With respect to life lessons, I have discussed: “Finances in 5 Minutes”, “Getting Social IRL”, and “Future Plans Change…But That’s Okay”. I have received an abundance of positive feedback from students; they appreciate the insights and have stated that it shows them that I care not only about their academic successes, but their life successes as well.
Self-Evaluation of Teaching
The greatest gain I have made in my teaching is my openness and willingness to implement new teaching strategies knowing that the outcome could be less than favourable. Therefore, I am willing to accept that failure may be an outcome during the inaugural attempt at a novel instructional strategy. I always want my students to have the best experience possible in my classrooms. However, to achieve this goal, this means I must be willing to try different teaching and assessment methods. These new methods might “fail” by not going as I had envisioned, but that is okay. It provides me the opportunity to learn how I might approach that technique differently in the future. If I want my students to learn, I must be willing to learn too. This also becomes an important point of transparency with students – if the instructional strategy did not go as planned (i.e., if “failed”), it is imperative to get student feedback, and to explain to them what went as expected, what did not go as expected, and how you would plan to fix it. This helps students to see that failure is not fatal, and we as instructors are not infallible, but that we are willing to experience failure in order to learn.
Summary of Courses Taught
Course codes and descriptions for courses I have taught as outlined by their respective institutions.
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University of Prince Edward Island
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BIO 1020: Human Health
An introductory course dealing with the structure and function of the human body as the biological foundation of human health and disease. Course topics will include a survey of human organ systems and prevalent diseases of the adult human, introducing concepts of disease prevention and wellness.
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University of Waterloo
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HEALTH 100: Foundations of a Healthy Lifestyle
This course will introduce the student to the basics of health, wellness, and disease, with an emphasis on assessing and evaluating the student's own lifestyle and health risk, and committing to a plan to begin or maintain a healthy lifestyle across the life course.
Prereq: Not open to students in the School of Public Health Sciences, and Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences
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HEALTH 105: Mental Health Literacy
This course will introduce students to mental health and wellness across the life span, with an emphasis on the postsecondary age group. HEALTH 105 considers mental health within the broader spectrum of health in our changing world. Through this course, students will increase their ability to recognize, manage, and strengthen mental health. Students will develop greater awareness of their own mental health and wellness through the application of the knowledge and skills learned in this course. In addition to considering mental health at the individual level, this course will focus on how to foster a culture of support and caring in community. This course is not intended to be a substitute for counselling.
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HEALTH 107: Sociology of Activity, Health, and Well-Being
This course will focus on the social and cultural factors that influence leisure, activity, health, and well-being in different settings and among different populations. Sociological literature will be used to examine activity, health, and well-being in the lives of individuals, groups, and society.
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KIN 232: Research Design & Statistics
An introduction to research design, statistical analysis, and their application to kinesiology and clinical health practice. A primary focus is to provide students with the tools to critically evaluate sources of information pertinent to their chosen profession.
Prereq: KIN 104
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KIN 470: Senior Seminar
An examination of current major issues and trends in Kinesiology. Students select areas of major interest from a series of faculty introduced topics.
Prereq: Level at least 4A Kinesiology
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University of Western Ontario
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KIN 2000: Physical Activity and Health
This course will focus on the significant impact of a healthy lifestyle, and specifically physical activity, on optional health and well-being. Students will be introduced to, and their knowledge enhanced in, concepts in the area of physical activity and health, with a focus on exploring the scientific evidence base for the derivation of the relationships between physical activity, well-being, and disease.
Note: This course may not be taken for credit by students registered in the School of Kinesiology
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