Teaching Experience

Higher education allows many people to experience vast amounts of opportunity as they progress towards their personalized career path. It is the position of the educator and teacher that aids in facilitating career exploration and skill strengthening. Over my years as a graduate teaching assistant and instructor of record at two different universities, there are three aspects of teaching that I have found to be most important. First, the instructor, as a life-long learner, should practice and adapt lectures, discussions, and activities based on experience, student feedback, and the latest educational research. Second, the primary goal of most courses is to strengthen critical and holistic thinking as well as oral and written communication of concepts. And finally, any higher education should prepare students for their career path, including understanding various perspectives that they may encounter outside the academic environment. All of these factor into adult learning theory, centering the student within the course topic and real-world relatable content.

Practice, Patience, and Flexibility

Practice, patience, and willingness to change the course are what I consider to be key elements in my teaching philosophy. Practicing giving lectures, recording videos, and leading discussions provides opportunities to try new methodologies as more research on teaching pedagogy is published. Patience with students in all circumstances is critical; I never want the student to feel pressured to put school work before personal or familial obligations that may arise throughout the course. Student surveys, evaluations, and reflections are various ways to gauge the student’s understanding of the material and their thoughts about the teaching methods; teachers should always give these at least around the midterm and again after the final week of courses. We as teachers are still also life-long students, constantly observing reactions and learning new ways to present information. Student input is a critical component in structuring courses, developing new activities, and addressing areas that may have been initially lacking.

After discussing the practice at length during workshops and individual meetings with my current university’s Teaching & Learning Offices, I implemented an ‘ungrading’ practice in a course I designed to get students thinking about and handling collection (mostly natural history) objects appropriately and safely. In this practice, a final learning portfolio from course work along with individual meetings with each student determined the grade entered and submitted to the university at the end of the semester. This centered the student’s learning with individualized learning objectives and customized grant writing semester projects.

Strengthening Holistic Thinking

The central idea that I implement in all of my teachings is critical and broad holistic thinking. Whether the student plans to become a doctor diagnosing symptoms or an engineer troubleshooting electrical complications in an apartment building, critical thinking is one of the most crucial skill, yet the most difficult to ‘teach’. I say ‘teach’ as the instructor can provide activities and examples, but it is up to the student to work towards strengthening critical thinking through course participation. The instructor, therefore, must adapt their teaching styles to facilitate critical thinking practice within the course.

Over my years as a graduate teaching assistant at two different universities, I have had the opportunity to witness a variety of different teaching styles. Student learning and information retention increases with opportunities to learn from peers through discussion, engaging in repetition, and teaching others. One method in particular that I have grown fond of is the flipped classroom. The flipped classroom provides lectures and readings outside of class in a virtual setting, and allows in-person sessions to focus on discussion and application. The lectures and readings (and sometimes quizzes or written reflections) are conducted as the traditional concept of homework. The students get to dive into the material, start formulating their independent thoughts on the subject matter, and bring their ideas to a full group or class discussion. These discussions provide an outlet for understanding, a space for critiques and any corrections needed, and the opportunity to build on other student’s experiences with the content and materials. After completing two TA positions in courses that used this format both completely virtual and hybrid face-to-face, this is my preferred method of teaching upper-level courses.

Life Preparations

There are many different people from incredibly varied backgrounds and upbringings, which creates many differing viewpoints on many topics taught in higher education. These topics are not constrained to the classroom, but extend to off-campus and global environments. It is important for the instructor to facilitate engagement with multiple viewpoints and provide a well-rounded student experience. Building on the practice and critical thinking statements from above, interpersonal communication skills are necessary and are built through repetition, peer review, and constructive feedback.

Genetics is a field of study that has a lot of information already known, but also has many major gaps in our understanding. These gaps are compounded as the public is bombarded with mis- and dis-information about many topics, from vaccines to sex-determination systems and consequences. Presenting all information, leading students to analyze the information critically, and relate specific course teachings to real-world situations has allowed students in large courses (100 - 200 students) to talk through situations and create solutions or explanations. After being a teaching assistant for the mid-level genetics course for seven semesters, I provided students with this type of (optional) supplemental practice. These practices provided discussions about the reasoning behind certain answers for multiple choice questions, as well as several perspective pieces for more conceptual questions. After looking at participation and exam scores, students demonstrated increased exam scores compared to non-participating students.

Many biology courses include research and report writing assignments. However, grant writing is critical for graduate level studies and workforce participation. Many positions in the workforce and various careers, however, must write grant applications, which requires a different mindset compared to scientific reporting. Therefore, I implemented a grant writing semester project within the Collection Material Handling course I designed and implemented in Spring 2023. I held grant writing workshops, provided detailed feedback for each section of the grant proposal, and organized a peer review system for the entire semester.

As I continue to attend teaching conferences and workshops, I know my teaching philosophy will constantly be updated to follow the research that is newly published for both child and adult learning. My current statement here reflects my personal experiences in higher education to date. I will continue to improve my teaching strategy with practice, patience, and critical thinking.

As an instructor at the university level, I have seen first-hand how the diversity of students can greatly contribute to in-class discussions and overall broad-based learning. Students come from varied backgrounds, with mixed aspirations and ideas on career paths. It may be difficult to create an educational experience that addresses all aspects of a college student’s life, but it is imperative that all instructors find ways to promote accessibility within coursework and broadly community engagement. This line of thinking also can apply to non-academia situations, institutions, and organizations. The ability to promote open communications, providing access to materials, and selecting appropriate locations and times for training and workshops are all areas that need to be addressed during the planning of inclusive community services. The three pillars I aspire towards include taking the time at the beginning to plan for all possible accessibility opportunities, hold myself accountable to update my teaching and interaction based on student comment and communications, and to advocate for those who need it most within an institution.

Initially Plan for Accessibility

Accommodation, it should be noted, takes more preliminary work from the instructor or organizing team. There are so many variables that come into play that should be addressed before any full team or class meeting. Time and location, as well as external links, resources, and reminders, should be well established within those plans.

There may be times when a student, or in the broader sense community members, may not be able to physically attend or participate in a scheduled activity. The reasons could be vast, from child care, illnesses, familial matters, or transportation issues. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the instructor or group leader to address these possible hindrances up front. Having a centralized online and/or physical space for members allows for self-learning and further community conversation. The participant would not get behind on coursework or the knowledge areas if they have free access to resources. As an instructor, I record all of my lectures and provide additional resources on the course’s website. I have also created extra quizzes to address the various topics discussed in the course’s units to provide additional real-world questions and promote problem-solving. 

Stepping into the physical location, the selection of workshop and training sites and times has to be carefully considered to promote inclusivity. The ability to physically get to a location could be the first obstacle community members must overcome. I have had my own aspirations of creating a community biological education center, providing free resources to the community. Accessibility via bus or mass transit would be a requirement for the location of such a facility. This would be the same for any workshop centered on any topic. On top of location, time schedules must occur at a time where many working families and people can attend. Understanding the schedules and familial needs such as child care should be accounted for and if possible provided by the team organizing the event.

Changes may be needed leading up to and even during the event depending on the participants and their educational desires. This flexibility promotes camaraderie between community members and organizing teams while also focusing on measurable educational outcomes. Open communication, resource accessibility, and physical accommodations all play a pivotal role in the education of sustainable living.

Maintain Accountability

As someone who has gone though educational institutions for most of my life (Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD), I have my single perspective to work off of when designing lessons and leading lectures. Each individual I interact with also has their own perspectives based on their experiences. It is important as an instructor or leader to listen to those differing and sometimes conflicting perspectives. Preemptively accommodating potential differences in education, training, and learning styles greatly reduces the stress from a course or workshop.

Students have found various ways to interact in class and learn materials. Some may need to talk through it, others may need to re-write notes and re-watch lectures, and still others learn best by simply absorbing conversations around them. A student said of my teaching during the Collection Material Handling course: “You never cut off a student who is talking during discussions, but find ways to link everything back to the topic and encourage classmate contributions.”  I have seen situations where a student may be answering a question and explaining their thought process, and afterwards realize for themselves that there was a different or more correct way to address the question, without needing instructor interference. This directly demonstrated learning growth and critical thinking for that individual, simply by allowing them to think out loud. On the other side of student discussions, the quoted student struggled with the confidence to talk during the discussions, but found their voice as the course progressed and was actively suggesting new ideas by the last few weeks of the course. Having open communications and a welcoming attitude towards conversations without the threat of either being bullied or chastised for your thoughts greatly improves learning on a deeper level for every participant. 

I have also had opportunities to meet with students to discuss specific ways that they want me to change or alter my method of teaching or explaining to clarify assignments. Once I receive those types of feedback, I immediately think of situations where I know I can modify the activity to fit with what the student has asked, and make sure that it is an update that then works for that student. It is a positive feedback loop. This is something I try to accomplish every time I have a conversation, regardless of my position or who I am talking with. However, since we all have inherent biases that we may not realize are manifested in different situations, it’s imperative that instructors and leaders keep an open mind and open communications with those we are teaching. 

Be An Advocator

While all the planning and accountability may aid in maintaining and facilitating learning within the single course, workshop, or organization, accessibility needs are not restricted to those spaces and times. Accessibility needs are a constant environmental encounter. And while a single instructor or manager may provide accommodations, many outside the organization or closed community may not address those accessibility issues. Therefore, having open communication with students and team members will also allow you to gain background and information enough to discuss with others about accessibility. This may initially be with coworkers or other team leaders. Having many other people on board, discussing, thinking, and implementing accessibility accommodations will demonstrate to those in upper management the importance of such practices.

Like in all fields of study, keeping records of initial situations and progress aids further to demonstrate how particular accommodations positively impact organizational functioning and student learning. There may be instances with reluctant upper management and administration who must answer to others above them in an institutional hierarchy. If accessibility is not on the minds of those persons, having data to show the improvements would aid in getting the ideas to the forefront of administration discussions. Personally, I am not a vocal or confrontational individual, and prefer to make my own steps and demonstrate the progress instead of simply telling someone about the improvements I see within my small group.

By planning, taking accountability, and discussing progress with other people, accessibility accommodations may become an easier and more established practice within institutions. The practice of such accommodations is, in my mind, a learned behavior that may take time to develop. Attending workshops and training on leadership and management for anyone who leads a group should be encouraged at all institutions and organizations. I myself will continue to attend such educational events to further promote inclusivity within our community.