I’ve put some additional effort into improving my statement of teaching philosophy. As was the case with the previous version, this iteration represents a refinement, not a radical revision.
Mainly I wanted to more clearly explain the reasons by behind my motto, “learn continuously, live generatively,” as it relates to my preference for learning generatively. I also wanted to streamline it as much as possible and remove any unnecessary and/or confusing content.
Hopefully I have succeeded, though I am certain this will continue to evolve as I continue to improve as a teacher. As always, I welcome any comments or suggestions!
I am a lifelong learner inspired to investigate, evaluate and translate information into knowledge – as a student and as a teacher. In the spirit of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard who wrote “to be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner,” I believe being an educator is a different way of being a student. In the classroom, my students join with me as colleagues on a journey of educational exploration towards generative learning.
According to author and management professor Peter Senge, generative learning “enhances our capacity to create.” Engaging in generative learning involves linking existing knowledge of a subject with emerging ideas, resulting in a more individualistic understanding about its systemic significance. Notably, successfully learning generatively involves intensive individual effort. In the classroom, a generative learning approach stimulates self-reliance among students who are asked to actively engage material rather than passively listening to lectures.
It is for this reason that I am motivated by the motto “learn continuously, live generatively.” As an educator, it is my role to remain intellectually inquisitive and my responsibility to productively apply the knowledge gained from that process. Although a simpler version, “learn generatively,” captures the concept, it obscures the effect: if I am always learning, I am always creating. Learning in which I am engaged continuously will always be generative, as will be the life to which I contribute the knowledge created in that process.
To help my students learn generatively, I embrace the idea initiated by Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mark Van Doren that “the art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” Knowing relevancy is essential to discovery, I avoid assignments that require repetition of information in deference to papers, presentations and projects that provide a platform with which students can address personal or professional issues. Whenever possible, I customize curriculum to meet the unique needs of a class and remain responsive to change throughout the term.
Acting as a “guide on the side” and not a “sage on the stage,” I am committed to the comfort and confidence of my students. I combine learning with laughter in my classrooms and always encourage students to pursue their individual ideas. Following Goleman’s concept of “emotional intelligence,” I am available to my students at all times. And, having taught students of various ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds, I am especially sensitive to the diverse challenges with which my students might be contending.
In keeping with this idea, I believe an educational environment should encourage students to compete with themselves, but not with each other. Learning should create community, not competition. I support the idea of collective individualism: a knowledge management process that leverages the contributions of independent and interconnected participants to solve a shared problem. In short: when one of us succeeds, all of us succeed.
Interdisciplinary by nature, I teach courses in communication, English, information technology, management and marketing. While each discipline is distinct, I approach them from the perspective of their common intersection with humanity, technology and industry. Given my interconnected perception of these disciplines I often include elements of one or more of them in every class, regardless of its primary focus.
I enjoy challenging my students to think evolutionarily in an attempt to shatter preconceptions and create meaningful knowledge. It is because of this potential outcome that I am drawn to teaching. I find that it can be as challenging as it is rewarding, but no other professional experience has allowed me to help shape the future of other people while simultaneously giving my own life greater meaning and purpose.
