Teaching Philosophy

Dedicated to being a life-long learner, my philosophy of teaching follows the goals of learning organizations: Learning is a process that encompasses both the educator and the student. The classroom environment I try to create encourages students to pursue their goals and to express their individual ideas through intellectual discussion of course materials. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their education and to work with me to enrich their educational experiences.

My goal is to work with students through interactions in and outside of class to explain the course materials, untangle the confusion, and guide students to meet their goals. My responsibility is to help my students learn; I do this by building on course materials, integrating current news and innovations into each class, and encouraging the use of external resources.

I expect students to take individual responsibility for their education by coming prepared to participate in class, by doing the assigned readings, by staying current with changes in their field, and by working with each other in peer learning situations. I understand that students have many demands on their time; this class works when you accept responsibility for learning the material, organizing your time, and looking beyond the class to improve your skills. I value the contribution of students to class discussions and I hope to inspire learning in both the class and beyond. I strive to know all my students by name (by the 3rd week I can remember most of the names), and to know individual information about each student so that I can make each class and each learning experience valuable to you.