what does the word Learning mean to me?

To me the term learning has two vivid meanings. Firstly, it  is the process or ability to advance the amout of information that we have academically. This is what people mean when they say that someone is learned. They define the term in this case by the level of academic achievement of an individual. This meaning to do with information gained through reading and studies either individually or in class.

The second meaning has to do with one's experience in life. It refers to the maturity and experience that comes with life. It is this kind of experience at one time in life that can enable a person to react differently to a similar situation in the future. It is the ability to add onto our experience in life situations and also be able to challenge ourselves to mature even more in our conception of different situations, be it academically or not. It is this meaning that make old people wiser compared to younger people or as they say, "young and stupid".

Teaching Philosophy Draft #1

Teaching Philosophy Draft #1

Why do I teach?

As a graduate student, one of my graduate school responsibilities is to teach chemistry and Biochemistry lab sections. But, the driving force that keeps me looking forward to each of my class section is my love and passion to share the knowledge that I have with my students. The joy that comes when a student who had no idea on how to solve a question gets to go home knowing how to solve the problem and also apply the knowledge in solving other problems is what keeps me motivated every single day.

What do I believe or value about teaching and student learning?

I believe that in as much as the instructor might be the choreographer of a learning environment, teaching and learning is of equal responsibility by both the teacher and students. The teacher guides the students in the right direction in the quest of their knowledge, but ultimately, students learn best when they themselves take the little bit of information provided by their teachers and dig deeper about it. Teaching is most effective when students’ involvement and drive to learn is tapped into and this is why I like to encourage class participation and group discussion by rewarding them with class points.

Metaphor for teaching/learning that comes to mind

To me, teaching and learning is like jazz music. Each instrument on its own is noisy, uncoordinated and lack the passion in it. But, when a jazz band comes together, the music is wild, interactive and passionate, yet flowing and organized. There is a leader, but together, they work together. This is why I believe teaching requires both student and teacher efforts.

How do my research and disciplinary context influence my teaching?

Chemistry and biochemistry are very analytical yet very application based subjects. For this reasons, I like to challenge my students to try and apply the core principles of chemistry and biochemistry they learn in class in real life. For example, in order to prepare a chemical solution, one has to determine how much of a chemical is needed to make the required solution concentration.

How do my Identity/background and my students’ identities /backgrounds affect teaching and learning in my class?

I do believe that every student is unique and therefore at the beginning of my classes, I would like to ask the students what works best for them and try to incorporate as much as I can the teaching ways that the students like. For example, some students like to have class notes posted online prior to class while others like writing their own notes during class. Therefore, incorporating a hybrid (notes with some blank/incomplete sentences) of these two methods enables me to carter to both their needs. I also have an open door policy so that every student feels free to ask me  questions out of class.

What is my approach to evaluating and assessing students’ performance?

My priority is to ensure that students gain new knowledge from my classes. I am more interested in their cognitive maturity even though I also expect them to excel in their exams and quizzes. For this reason, I always test students on essay/ application type questions together with multiple choice questions.

Polymorphism of Cognitive recognition in Students

Reading through Markwell and Courtney's Article reminds me a lot of my life through college. I quickly relate to almost every stage of cognitive devt they describe. From a student that entirely believed as gospel every sinngle word that came from my teachers' mouths and text books; to one that seeks reasons to most of the statements that the same teachers say today. Boy, this article has made me appreciate how far I THINK I have come from as a student in class and a student of life in general. But the most important point I draw from it is the fact that being a TA, (especially in general chemistry labs that have students of different backgrounds- majors, freshmen to seniors) I have to realize that my students are going to be at different stages of processing the information I am trying to portray to them. But this article also made me grinch even more at the fact that some of college faculty think that you do not need to be trained to teach successfully. That you "pick" it as you keep teaching. But, how long would we need then as teachers before "picking' that "talent" of teaching. What about the students that paid so much to get the best teaching in the world while we are still figuring it out? As a personal opinion, I think there should be a law that requires that faculty have at least one teaching class under their belt before they can  teach. And I am not by any way trying to say most are not qualified or trying to be political, because these are some of the smartest brains in the US. I think realizing that knowing and understanding your audience/students is one of the biggest things to successful teaching.
   With that said, I close my blog by saying that I am more challenged and challenge all of us to reflect and always challenge ourselves to be at the pluralism stage of information processing.