Statement of Pedagogical Philosophy

I am responsible for teaching a variety of undergraduate courses in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. Each term I design course formats, pick the most up to date textbooks, give lectures, facilitate discussions, grade assignments and exams, and make sure I am readily available for student consultations. I feel that for every class I teach, my major responsibilities are to instill in students an enthusiasm for learning, competency in the subject matter, and the self-assurance to apply their new found knowledge in real world settings.

In a department whose enrollment is diverse in ethnicity, future job aspirations, and skill level, I strive to make sure each presentation of information is meaningful and understandable to all of my students. I can still remember the challenge of coming to terms with the abstract world of academia, especially the abstract world of theories and quantitative statistics. To be an effective teacher I strive to learn the way each student understands and approaches the material. I feel students must not only understand the abstract body of knowledge, but also develop the personal confidence necessary to use their knowledge.

For example, when teaching applied research methods, I try to relieve students of their “fear of math” by helping them slowly gain mastery of progressively advanced statistical procedures. I feel it is my obligation to develop my student’s inner confidence as well as their competencies, through exercises that are both challenging and relevant to their future aspirations. I aim to ensure each exercise is within a reasonable range of their abilities. Scaffolding each exercise by building upon the content of the previous lesson, I progressively increase student’s skills. Each completed exercise increases the student’s confidence. I strive to make each student feel they have the capacity to succeed. In this way, my teaching methods support the two goals that I feel represent true higher education: imparting an understanding of course content, and encouraging each student’s personal growth and development.