What makes you a good higher education teacher?
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My teaching approach combines both Ex-Cathedra and Interactive teaching methods. At the early stage of each course, I present a very structured overview of the subject and the study plan. I emphasize that the course materials are just one appropriate solution to the research problem. In this context, I plan to start each course by inviting a librarian to instruct students on using search engines to find articles relevant to the subject. At the later stages, I use interaction activities in the class that keeps students interested and engaged. These activities may include the use of multimedia, short videos, students’ votes during the class.
Making a personal connection with students is also important to me. I use my own human experience to shape my philosophy of dealing with students and influence my actions, inside and outside the classroom. I fully understand that different students learn in different ways. Small details interest some students, while others are more interested in overviews. Some students prefer working in teams and others prefer working individually. I consider these differences among students by remaining observant and flexible.
Evaluating the progress of students towards the course goals will be done through several assignments, presentations, and final examinations. Regular feedback from students, through assignments and presentations, enables me and students to quickly identify areas in which they are excelling or having difficulty. In addition, in-class discussions with students provide me with immediate feedback and therefore I may either move through the material more rapidly or revisit particular points.
Finally, for fairness to prevail in student evaluation, I would invite external experts to the evaluation of the final exam.
Being a teacher in a theater arts program, it is important for me to know details about my students prior to a course. If a class I am teaching is one about theory or history, I need to know how much theory or history they have learned before.
If it is a practice-heavy class such as acting or directing, I also need to know a student’s basic psychological make-up — whether he or she is a quick learner or one that would need time before comprehending principles and processes. But with the current pandemic forcing us to shift to online learning systems, it has even become more important to understand pedagogies particularly those that pertain to multi-platform education.
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