My Teaching Philosophy
"Learning is not a spectator sport" -Mark Twain
When I began my career in Fire/EMS, I sought out experience and learned as much as possible. I eventually specialized in critical care transport and became a flight paramedic. I easily bonded with the students completing internships at the fire department for paramedic certification. Many of them would seek me out as a preceptor because I would take time to explain complex ideas, and I genuinely cared about their learning and wanted them to succeed. I quickly earned a reputation as the preceptor who would help me learn. I wanted students to have good internship experiences. I was responsible to my profession to help teach those who wanted to know it. Teaching others about my profession just came naturally to me, and I found my passion for serving others was growing into a passion for helping others learn how to serve others in need. That desire to teach others led to graduate studies in adult education and a career focused on training and education.
I want to be a role model for my learners. I need to take time to get to know them. I want them to recognize my passion for teaching and my genuine desire for them to be successful. Understanding their goals and reasons for pursuing education helps me know them better. I draw upon those desires and goals in my teaching. I strive to demonstrate professionalism, patience, humility, acceptance, inclusion, and open-mindedness. I seek feedback from my learners regularly to improve.
I clearly communicate my expectations and requirements for success and offer several different methods for students to speak with me.
I strive to create rich learning environments that are challenging yet inclusive, with experiences that consider all learning styles. I carefully plan and review content, ensuring it is relevant and current. I share the goals for each class session with my learners, and before we dismiss, I assure them we have achieved them.
I strive to give timely, accurate, fair, and honest feedback. My evaluations use the same standards for performance that my learners encounter for professional licensure or certification. I evaluate my methods for measuring student success and mastery after each course. I strive to create a safe place for my learners to participate and make mistakes. If they are allowed to join without punishment, they are more likely to participate and to attempt what they have been studying. Using low-stakes quizzes, discussions, and my very favorite- hands-on scenarios- have excellent results in my courses. We celebrate mistakes in these scenarios! I frequently use group discussions about text reading assignments, peer-reviewed evaluations, and numerous team-based scenarios. I use case studies and scenarios in every session, some of which I experienced personally. I make a great effort to ensure these are valuable to learning, not just me telling “war stories.”
I use instructional technology such as the learning management systems, and I take time to help those unfamiliar with using that technology. I use technology (or simulate it as best as possible) that learners will encounter in the field as much as possible. Lecture sessions are essential and can contribute to learning. I make sure I construct lectures with the student's attention span in mind, changing the focus or tempo every 12 minutes or less and ensuring content contributes to the lesson/session goals.
I need to be a resource for students after they leave my program/course. I'd like to ensure they have the information so they can contact me afterward. I frequently hear from former learners, and I enjoy hearing about their encounters in the field. Many I hear from express that I played a significant role in preparing them to handle a challenging situation requiring critical thinking. It always adds a dose of validity and encouragement for me.
I deeply desire to see my learners succeed, and I find ways to ensure this is reflected in my teaching. I seek ways to make my class sessions fun, entertaining, rich in content, and meaningful to the overall outcomes and course goals. I embrace the challenges I may face with each course and consistently seek to improve and learn. This is my craft, passion, responsibility, and contribution to the profession I teach and society.
I want to be a role model for my learners. I need to take time to get to know them. I want them to recognize my passion for teaching and my genuine desire for them to be successful. Understanding their goals and reasons for pursuing education helps me know them better. I draw upon those desires and goals in my teaching. I strive to demonstrate professionalism, patience, humility, acceptance, inclusion, and open-mindedness. I seek feedback from my learners regularly to improve.
I clearly communicate my expectations and requirements for success and offer several different methods for students to speak with me.
I strive to create rich learning environments that are challenging yet inclusive, with experiences that consider all learning styles. I carefully plan and review content, ensuring it is relevant and current. I share the goals for each class session with my learners, and before we dismiss, I assure them we have achieved them.
I strive to give timely, accurate, fair, and honest feedback. My evaluations use the same standards for performance that my learners encounter for professional licensure or certification. I evaluate my methods for measuring student success and mastery after each course. I strive to create a safe place for my learners to participate and make mistakes. If they are allowed to join without punishment, they are more likely to participate and to attempt what they have been studying. Using low-stakes quizzes, discussions, and my very favorite- hands-on scenarios- have excellent results in my courses. We celebrate mistakes in these scenarios! I frequently use group discussions about text reading assignments, peer-reviewed evaluations, and numerous team-based scenarios. I use case studies and scenarios in every session, some of which I experienced personally. I make a great effort to ensure these are valuable to learning, not just me telling “war stories.”
I use instructional technology such as the learning management systems, and I take time to help those unfamiliar with using that technology. I use technology (or simulate it as best as possible) that learners will encounter in the field as much as possible. Lecture sessions are essential and can contribute to learning. I make sure I construct lectures with the student's attention span in mind, changing the focus or tempo every 12 minutes or less and ensuring content contributes to the lesson/session goals.
I need to be a resource for students after they leave my program/course. I'd like to ensure they have the information so they can contact me afterward. I frequently hear from former learners, and I enjoy hearing about their encounters in the field. Many I hear from express that I played a significant role in preparing them to handle a challenging situation requiring critical thinking. It always adds a dose of validity and encouragement for me.
I deeply desire to see my learners succeed, and I find ways to ensure this is reflected in my teaching. I seek ways to make my class sessions fun, entertaining, rich in content, and meaningful to the overall outcomes and course goals. I embrace the challenges I may face with each course and consistently seek to improve and learn. This is my craft, passion, responsibility, and contribution to the profession I teach and society.
