TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
I strongly believe in active learning, where students have their own ability to learn the subjects and develop their unique views if they are determined and motivated. Teachers should provide an environment so that students can learn actively in a smoother, more pleasant and more enjoyable way. I believe this can be best achieved by incorporating four key components in my teaching:
- 1. Understanding the students:
Teachers should continually keep track of the student’s understanding level. Surprisingly, I have observed many classes where many students felt lost, especially after the midterm, even if the instructor had good teaching skills. I realized that this is due to the instructor’s lack of communication with students and appreciation of their understanding level. This could be resolved by frequent course evaluation and survey throughout the semester. The teacher can adjust the pace of the curriculum or hold extra sessions for the students having difficulties based upon these results.
- Creating entertaining and dynamic environment:
Education is not a unidirectional but interactive communication process. Both students and instructors should actively participate in the class and benefit from learning. In my classes, I have tried to provide an environment so that students could get actively involved, teach and correct each other. Specifically, creating a friendly and comfortable atmosphere where students are not worried about making mistakes has been very helpful in promoting this environment.
- Encouraging group work to students:
Students are more motivated and learn better when they share their knowledge and idea with their colleagues. I have encouraged group activities such as team projects, discussions, newsgroups and e-mail communication to the students. The groups with good chemistry and active member participation have always performed better. Furthermore, they learned not only problem solving but also communication skills, which is one of the most crucial assets for their career.
- Promoting “thinking out of the box”:
It is important to emphasize broad and practical issues of engineering in class. Furthermore, it is important to help students to see beyond the basic material and achieve a level of creativity in their studies. In many classes, especially at freshman or sophomore level, students easily get bored or become skeptical of the reasons why they learn those fundamental theories. They would find the class more exciting and stimulating if provided with broader implications and real-life applications of the subject, as well as opportunities to creatively apply the knowledge they are learning. Practical projects, designed to illustrate the significance of the material they learn in class, are very useful to achieve this.
