My Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is a deeply personal reflection that is grounded and informed by educational theory and equitable, diverse, inclusive, and respectful pedagogies. In this section, you will find my beliefs and values as an educator about what makes learning happen.
01
Creating Positive Learning Environments
Students who tried the online class discussion experience, typically returned each week due in part to the supportive environment Bridget was able to create in the virtual classroom, one that encouraged students to share their experiences with the weekly material and to facilitate inclusive class discussion.
My goal as an educator is to provide a motivating learning environment for my students. I aim to enact student driven learning in the classroom. For me, teaching is like being a tour guide. We both act as facilitators guiding people to the possibilities and realities around them. By focusing on engaging students in meaningful ways, my students can appreciate the potential that the discipline of sociology holds to shift and open our perspectives in various social contexts. My teaching philosophy is rooted in participatory teaching and learning, trust, and rapport among students and between myself and students. My teaching gets done within this learning environment.
Creating a positive learning environment where students can feel seen begins with my own self-reflection. As the teacher in this learning environment, my own positionality, my own history, my own lived experiences, have been informed by labour studies, sociology, criminology, and research. I reflect and rely on my experiences and inform my teaching and the students. What connects us, students, and instructor, is our shared desire to converse about the course material. My first task as an instructor is to work towards putting students at ease and building a brave, trusting, and nurturing educational environment. I do this by keeping open communication with students, getting to know my students and the lives they live, and providing a range of opportunities to be involved. I also work to ensure student experiences are reflected in the syllabus. In doing this, I am working to present course materials in a variety of methods possible, with the aim of ensuring students feel competent, positively related to others, and autonomous.
02
Feedback, Reflexivity & Failure
“Knowing what you know and don’t know focuses learning”
Chickering & Gamson (1987)
I seek to spark a student’s curiosity and their own willingness to self-reflect and transform through higher education. I do this through continuous feedback and reflection. To encourage students to become self-reflective learners, I invest in my personal growth as an instructor. Students learn from me when I openly share my growth as an instructor. I utilize discussions, survey’s, polling, and/or social media during or after class to provide opportunities for students to ask questions and share feedback on my teaching. My goal is to learn what techniques work for students, where the material is challenging, and how I can modify my approach to best support their learning.
Reflection is important to help students develop the tools to evaluate their own learning. Beyond receiving feedback, we as educators can build students’ confidence levels by listening and observing on what isn’t being said. Recognizing and understanding gaps of knowledge will help guide student learning[1]. I am committed to the use of individualized formative feedback through the use of rubrics to provide clearly defined criteria creating higher reliability in my assessments.
We share our knowledge just as much of our experiences with others. Educators can show students that failure isn’t a scary word – but a space of learning, and that is where we can be humble and challenge ourselves to grow. My students can expect to learn that we need to add new tools to our toolbox – sometimes even unconventional ones that keep things exciting. Sometimes it might not work, but taking chances is where we grow. No matter the outcome, we grow in the process and become more resilient and confident. As an instructor, my goal is to be a partner with the students with the shared goal of their success by designing and incorporating timely and accurate feedback and reflective exercises in my courses.
[1] Chickering, A.W., & Gamson, Z.F. (1989). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. Biochemical Education, 17(3), 140–141.
03
Commitment to students and their learning
As a socially just sociologist I seek to bring learning into the real world so the students can see and relate to the practical application of what they are learning, but also so we can create transformative and foundational experiences for our students to learn. In my classroom, I aim to keep myself current in the fields of education research and to use different teaching strategies: I am a scholarly teacher, my practice is research informed. To motivate students to become active participants in the classroom and their learning I am committed towards the development and use of authentic assessments that guide the learning tasks presented in my courses. I engage with learning centered teaching practices[1] and pedagogies to promote critical thinking, critical self-reflection, and deeper learning. Other strategies that I seek to use to develop student skills and learning include, but are not limited to, small and large group discussions, lecturing, group work, and problem-based activities. I seek to set up opportunities for students to show their capabilities by working with students as partners to increase engagement, confidence, and improve the student experience.
Barriers happen, and as the instructor I won’t always know the struggles of my students. While it is up to them to speak up, it is also up to me to create a setting in which they can do so. That is why I aim to ensure students feel comfortable enough to engage with me, their peers, and in real-world learning. I am committed to my students and their learning in general, which entails a consciousness in my classroom, on and off the syllabus and pedagogy, to ensure that student’s needs, and whole selves are being addressed.
[1] Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1999). Development and Adaptations of the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 1999(80), 75–81. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.8006
“There are many roads to learning”
Chickering & Gamson (1987)
Her commitment to pedagogy is impressive, and not merely rhetorical.
As an educator, I am committed to meeting my students where they are at, but not leaving them there. Found within my passion for teaching and learning is a commitment to professional development. When I enhance my teaching practice, I demonstrate a commitment to students and their diverse ways of learning.
04
Collaborative & Lifelong Learning
Collaborating with students in their learning experiences is a core component of my teaching. For me, teaching involves two-way communication in which an event at one end changes events at the other. As educators, we shouldn’t treat teaching like it is something we do to our students. Rather, it is my core belief that teaching is something we do in collaboration with our students. We as educators are always reinforcing our students–whether it be positive or negative and for this reason, self-awareness is an integral part of my practice to understand how I am reinforcing the students. In each teaching session, I strive to create a positive environment in which the students are encouraged to engage with me, the material, their peers, and the environment.
I aim to do this by, building learning communities in the classroom where participants have a shared goal, provide academic and social support to members, and work together to create learning artifacts or products and feel a sense of belonging. This is done by incorporating group work where students can learn with and from each other. It is here, I believe, where students can be encouraged to consider all points-of-view and combine all ideas to create opportunities for sharing knowledge in and outside the classroom by establishing peer networks. Teaching doesn’t have to be a private endeavor, and neither does learning.
Overall, my students can expect a fierce educator who will empower and never give up on them. I aim to support my students in breaking barriers and to grow as learners, researchers, and citizens. Demonstrating integrity, I seek to model a clear set of values and act in ways that support those values. When I am in front of the classroom, I look for ways to model for my students what it means to be a socially just sociologist by demonstrating the dynamics of social life, social change, and the underlying factors that drive and shape human behavior on and off the course syllabus. Continually, I strive to model risk-taking to inspire students and give them confidence. If students learn from those around them, I hope my students learn that the consequences of failure are manageable. This allows me to make students feel brave and respected to take risks and push the boundaries of what they know or think they know about themselves and the world around them.
Learn more about how I implement my philosophy through my