My Teaching Philosophy

As an educator in an urban institute of higher learning, I am passionate about providing the best and most that I have to give to the students in my class because they deserve to be as prepared and successful as any of their counterparts hailing from other more affluent or privileged areas. I believe my role as an educator to further social justice and contribute my gifts toward evening the playing field of opportunity for those who otherwise may not receive it.

I believe that every student is entitled to an education that is comprised of courses that are thoughtfully designed to abide by basic industry quality standards. As a course quality auditor, I place a premium on creating the student experience of choice in every class that I design and teach. Students should be able to rely on a consistent design to their courses that allow them to immediately make sense of a familiar navigation and presentation so that they can focus on mastering the course subject matter, and not waste time trying to figure out how to navigate the course. I believe that students are adult learners benefitting from andragogy (because pedagogy is for children) and are entitled to understanding the “why” behind what they’re learning and the work that I’m requiring of them. Lastly, I believe in modeling the behaviors that I expect my students to incorporate into their lives as future working professionals.

My students immediately come to know me as the professor who makes learning fun; who isn’t afraid to laugh at herself; who makes them want to come to class; and who makes sure they understand the point of each thing they’re asked to accomplish in my class. As a university instructor, I treat my students like adults who are responsible not only for the learning they do in my class, but the learning they’ll have to continue to do for the rest of their lives to remain relevant and marketable in their chosen fields. While I am a huge proponent for the value of edu-tainment and readily extoll its value to my class and my students meeting their objectives, my students also know that I am an avid supporter of each of them becoming thriving members of a 21st Century workforce. They hear me repeat this theme over and over during their time with me. This becomes the foundation for them knowing how what we do in my classes relates to what they’ll do in real life in almost any professional capacity they may find themselves. Knowing these things makes a difference in how my students see what’s in it for them when it comes to what I require of them. They know that the real-world knowledge I share with them they are accountable for demonstrating in a real-world way so that I—and they—know they are ready to take on real-world work.

I think of the promise I made as a mother, to myself and my own children, so many years ago when I had to begin leaving my babies in the care of strangers to go back to work sooner than planned—that if I were to spend that much time away from them, I would have to be spending that time making the world a better place. In teaching, I keep that promise.