Teaching Philosophy
I try to bring an off-beat, entertaining but informative style to the classroom. My primary objective as a teacher is not to teach just the facts, but also the principles. In an age where scientific knowledge is necessary in almost all fields, an understanding of what science is and how it works is essential. In order to do this I always try to keep the following things in mind:
Science is All Around Us – Often times we forget that science is the study of the natural world which surrounds us. Using examples from the everyday world students know to illustrate scientific knowledge allows them to see how scientists think, and reinforces principles taught in class. I teach my students that observing the glacial striae in the rock outcrops in Central Park help scientists determine which direction the glaciers were moving. I also teach them about the fruits and spikes of honey locust trees to help illustrate the missing mastodons of Manhattan. Watching the eyes of my students light up as they realize the everyday things all around them are both witness to and evidence of the fascinating geological and biological past of their very own communities is particularly rewarding.
Enthusiasm & Energy – No matter what the subject, if the students don’t see the passion I have for the subject I’m teaching I will never garner their passion for learning. My students can tell you that during the course of a lecture I walk throughout the entire classroom and make eye contact with each and every one of them. Many of the freshmen I teach are initially reticent in class, but as the semester wears on I get them to talk about science in class discussions, group discussions, and class projects. By the end of the semester many students who found science a boring subject are actually interested in talking about it to one another.
Science is Fun – It’s easy to get caught up in the laws and theories of science and lose the context. Science is full of larger than life personalities who led interesting and adventurous lives and often came upon their discoveries quite by accident. Telling those stories is important because not only do they provide context they also provide an amazing opportunity to illustrate scientific principles and also outline the scientific method itself. One of the best examples of this of course is Darwin, many students come into class thinking he visited the Galapagos Islands and came up with the theory of evolution by natural selection soon afterwards. I love to show them the thought process he went through to achieve his remarkable theory which took many years and observations.
Student learning styles vary – Different students learn in different ways and understanding and utilizing a variety of mediums to communicate the lessons is fundamental to ensuring each student learns. I utilize readings from the text, outside readings, PowerPoint, animations, films, and audio to help illustrate the points which I am lecturing about. I’ve had students come up to me and say how they loved that the readings from the book, the lectures, films we watched, and group discussions we had were all planned out, coordinated with one another and when they didn’t understand a concept utilizing one of the mediums the other mediums served to reinforce and help them understand the concepts better.
