Statement of Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is grounded on facilitating students’ journey along a path of exploration and self-reflection where they construct meaning for themselves. My first objective as a teacher is to make every effort in and outside the classroom to prevent understanding unaccompanied by inner change, a change that can only come through the medium of true communication, which I envision not only as thought, but also love. It is that love, naturally reciprocated that engages not only the mind, but also the whole human being, that allows teaching to trigger real inner change. Education envisioned this way is intrinsically both an interpersonal and a moral enterprise.
To achieve this objective, I strive every semester to create in every class a learning community, a community in which both the teacher and students agree on their commitment and active contribution to a network of relationships that are born, live, and develop through each member’s efforts to further the learning process. To fulfill my side of this contract, I make every effort to consolidate the three pillars that support this enterprise: knowledge of the subject matter, pedagogy, and ability to establish successful social relationships. Thus, I work relentlessly to improve my knowledge of the field and the material that I teach, and I make a point of always going to class not only well-prepared but, if possible, overly prepared. In class, I use humor and my enthusiasm, what many of my students have labeled “passion.” I encourage class participation by establishing a non-threatening climate of mutual trust and care. I strive to set up a framework that both gives the class structure and leaves room for flexibility and adaptability to meet the course requirements as well as each student’s needs and learning styles. Moreover, I always seek to provide students with the skills and competences they need to engage successfully with the material and classroom activities, ultimately building skills that students will be able to apply outside the classroom as well. Thus it is my hope that students feel comfortable using the opportunities to share their feelings, ideas, and thoughts. Ultimately, I want students to take responsibility for their learning under my guidance, individually or as a group. Encouraging students to think beyond the boundaries of the course requires a serious commitment on my part to the implementation of that philosophy through the preparation of teaching materials, and attention to each student’s progress and achievements. Since culture and language learning very much are individual processes, I often invite students to write field notes and journals (like anthropologists or social scientists do) as a means to explore both their culture and the foreign culture. I strive for my students to leave my class having undergone a personal and intellectual transformation that will serve them beyond the scope of the course.
In guiding students in this endeavor, I use various tools and techniques, in and outside the classroom. In class, students are asked to bring questions on a regular basis to generate class discussions. They also engage in small-group activities and make individual and group oral presentations. In the advanced-level classes, at the end of the semester, students either write a term paper or present a project (film, website, portfolio) on a topic of their choice that demonstrates their cross-cultural awareness and their ability to describe, explore, and comprehend a cultural phenomenon as opposed to judging it through their own cultural lenses.
In the language classes, which are structured within a planned-immersion context, I use a proficiency-oriented, communicative approach to teaching beginning and intermediate-level students. In other words, the activities that I propose, while centered around a specific didactic point, encourage students to engage in as much meaningful communication as possible, keeping accuracy in mind. In this approach, students are led to learn the language in a functional way, namely within linguistic and cultural contexts that are as authentic as possible, likely to be encountered in the foreign culture, contexts in which the students will have to create their own meaning and accomplish or perform a task using specific functions of language. In this respect, guided induction is my preferred method to teach grammar because it enables students to create meaning for themselves and hypothesize about the language as they see grammatical patterns emerge while the grammar lesson progresses. Finally, I use technology when appropriate (e.g., online course management tools, the Internet, webcams, audio-visual texts) to centralize classroom material, for students to post questions and ideas in forums or blogs. I also use technology for students to construct and negotiate meaning as they engage in a variety of guided tasks where they perform functions that they would likely encounter in the foreign culture. Finally, I use technology to establish electronic learning communities, communities of learners who extend language learning well beyond the boundaries of the university classroom, communities, for example where students engage in an intercultural dialogue with students in countries outside the United States. My previous training and experiences with audiovisual technologies enable me to help students develop electronic literacy, a skill that they have to master.
In order for a student to develop linguistic autonomy in a foreign language, teaching the culture(s) in which this language is used must be placed at the core of foreign language instruction. Because of a growing awareness of language’s inextricable connection to culture, the goal of instruction is to develop students’ capability to read a cultural situation effectively with a positive attitude and behave accordingly by adopting an intercultural stance. This goal is anchored in three fundamental learning processes: (1) the learners’ exploration of their own culture, (2) the discovery of the relationship between language and culture, and (3) the learning of the heuristics to analyze and comparing cultures. In all the classes that I teach, regardless of proficiency level, I include these three elements as well as the language itself.
These considerations have led me to get involved with discussions on curriculum development, as well as, at the University of Tennessee and elsewhere, to create courses in which students confront these issues. For example, with the help of a Project RITE grant from the Innovative Technology Center at the University of Tennessee, I developed a constructionist, telecollaborative environment in which UTK students collaborate with partners in France. Seymour Papert coined the term constructionism to add to constructivism the idea that learners construct knowledge more effectively if they engage in actually constructing products meaningful to themselves and others around them. In its current state, the new technological media that are at students’ disposal have the potential not only to provide effective mediation between learners and information, but also, and perhaps more importantly, to provide opportunities for learners to become authors and participate in the creation of the semantic building blocks that will serve as the basis for the curriculum and, ultimately, intercultural exploration.In this course, students use Internet 2 technology to engage in weekly conversations with partners in France (via webcam and videoconferencing) in groups of four (two American students and two French students). Each groups’ semester goal is to choose a cultural phenomenon and explore it through various sources (media, films, surveys, questionnaires, websites, a class blog, etc.) to identify differences and similarities between French and American cultures. From the interaction between the various sources, the task of interpretation yields meaning or at least hypotheses that can later be confirmed or abandoned as times passes. At the end of the semester, all groups present the results of their investigation to both classes in the form of a website in which they attempt to show the nuances of the topic they chose. In essence, these groups of students constitute communities of inquiry, that is to say, an environment where the educational experience – and with it the production of knowledge and understanding – is situated at the intersection of social presence (participants’ ability to project themselves into the moment/community), cognitive presence (critical reflection and meaning construction through collaboration), and teaching presence (the teacher’s ability to design the environment and facilitate the learning process).
In such learning environments, the use of technology is manifold as learners turn into ethnographers or qualitative researchers, a methodological framework that lends itself to the qualitative description of human and social phenomena and, appropriately, tends to adopt a holistic approach to phenomena that cannot be easily isolated from each other. Since a culture is always an aggregated construct of multi-faceted perceptions these different perceptions have to be taken into account as they influence and shape each other. Thus, acquiring cultural literacy is not so much acquiring a checklist of knowledge, as developing awareness of the relation between selfhood and otherness. Consequently, understanding does not come from the individual’s own observation and knowledge construction but through human interactions. This electronic learning environment is based on three core principles: slowing down the learning experience to make development more sustainable, making thinking visible, and creating a culture of reflective practices. To this effect, writing journals proves an effective source of cultural exploration for learners. They are also an effective technique to have learners reflect on what they have discovered and how it affects them as the project can – and probably does – challenge their values and beliefs.
In closing, I will say that I believe a successful teacher is responsible for the quality of speech and the level of energy that he brings into the classroom. He achieves success through knowledge of content as well as by fostering good relationships – between himself and his students on the one hand, and among students on the other hand – so that teaching and learning can take place. I hope that the previous example demonstrates that both are strengths of mine, strengths through which I strive to meet the high standards I set for myself as I help students to achieve their goals and their potential. My teaching efforts have garnered recognition through high Student Assessment of Instruction System (SAIS) scores, as well as two nominations to the College’s Junior Teaching Award (in 2009 and 2010), the latter resulting in my receiving the award.
For teaching interests, a list of courses taught, and research supervision, see Curriculum Vitae.
To achieve this objective, I strive every semester to create in every class a learning community, a community in which both the teacher and students agree on their commitment and active contribution to a network of relationships that are born, live, and develop through each member’s efforts to further the learning process. To fulfill my side of this contract, I make every effort to consolidate the three pillars that support this enterprise: knowledge of the subject matter, pedagogy, and ability to establish successful social relationships. Thus, I work relentlessly to improve my knowledge of the field and the material that I teach, and I make a point of always going to class not only well-prepared but, if possible, overly prepared. In class, I use humor and my enthusiasm, what many of my students have labeled “passion.” I encourage class participation by establishing a non-threatening climate of mutual trust and care. I strive to set up a framework that both gives the class structure and leaves room for flexibility and adaptability to meet the course requirements as well as each student’s needs and learning styles. Moreover, I always seek to provide students with the skills and competences they need to engage successfully with the material and classroom activities, ultimately building skills that students will be able to apply outside the classroom as well. Thus it is my hope that students feel comfortable using the opportunities to share their feelings, ideas, and thoughts. Ultimately, I want students to take responsibility for their learning under my guidance, individually or as a group. Encouraging students to think beyond the boundaries of the course requires a serious commitment on my part to the implementation of that philosophy through the preparation of teaching materials, and attention to each student’s progress and achievements. Since culture and language learning very much are individual processes, I often invite students to write field notes and journals (like anthropologists or social scientists do) as a means to explore both their culture and the foreign culture. I strive for my students to leave my class having undergone a personal and intellectual transformation that will serve them beyond the scope of the course.
In guiding students in this endeavor, I use various tools and techniques, in and outside the classroom. In class, students are asked to bring questions on a regular basis to generate class discussions. They also engage in small-group activities and make individual and group oral presentations. In the advanced-level classes, at the end of the semester, students either write a term paper or present a project (film, website, portfolio) on a topic of their choice that demonstrates their cross-cultural awareness and their ability to describe, explore, and comprehend a cultural phenomenon as opposed to judging it through their own cultural lenses.
In the language classes, which are structured within a planned-immersion context, I use a proficiency-oriented, communicative approach to teaching beginning and intermediate-level students. In other words, the activities that I propose, while centered around a specific didactic point, encourage students to engage in as much meaningful communication as possible, keeping accuracy in mind. In this approach, students are led to learn the language in a functional way, namely within linguistic and cultural contexts that are as authentic as possible, likely to be encountered in the foreign culture, contexts in which the students will have to create their own meaning and accomplish or perform a task using specific functions of language. In this respect, guided induction is my preferred method to teach grammar because it enables students to create meaning for themselves and hypothesize about the language as they see grammatical patterns emerge while the grammar lesson progresses. Finally, I use technology when appropriate (e.g., online course management tools, the Internet, webcams, audio-visual texts) to centralize classroom material, for students to post questions and ideas in forums or blogs. I also use technology for students to construct and negotiate meaning as they engage in a variety of guided tasks where they perform functions that they would likely encounter in the foreign culture. Finally, I use technology to establish electronic learning communities, communities of learners who extend language learning well beyond the boundaries of the university classroom, communities, for example where students engage in an intercultural dialogue with students in countries outside the United States. My previous training and experiences with audiovisual technologies enable me to help students develop electronic literacy, a skill that they have to master.
In order for a student to develop linguistic autonomy in a foreign language, teaching the culture(s) in which this language is used must be placed at the core of foreign language instruction. Because of a growing awareness of language’s inextricable connection to culture, the goal of instruction is to develop students’ capability to read a cultural situation effectively with a positive attitude and behave accordingly by adopting an intercultural stance. This goal is anchored in three fundamental learning processes: (1) the learners’ exploration of their own culture, (2) the discovery of the relationship between language and culture, and (3) the learning of the heuristics to analyze and comparing cultures. In all the classes that I teach, regardless of proficiency level, I include these three elements as well as the language itself.
These considerations have led me to get involved with discussions on curriculum development, as well as, at the University of Tennessee and elsewhere, to create courses in which students confront these issues. For example, with the help of a Project RITE grant from the Innovative Technology Center at the University of Tennessee, I developed a constructionist, telecollaborative environment in which UTK students collaborate with partners in France. Seymour Papert coined the term constructionism to add to constructivism the idea that learners construct knowledge more effectively if they engage in actually constructing products meaningful to themselves and others around them. In its current state, the new technological media that are at students’ disposal have the potential not only to provide effective mediation between learners and information, but also, and perhaps more importantly, to provide opportunities for learners to become authors and participate in the creation of the semantic building blocks that will serve as the basis for the curriculum and, ultimately, intercultural exploration.In this course, students use Internet 2 technology to engage in weekly conversations with partners in France (via webcam and videoconferencing) in groups of four (two American students and two French students). Each groups’ semester goal is to choose a cultural phenomenon and explore it through various sources (media, films, surveys, questionnaires, websites, a class blog, etc.) to identify differences and similarities between French and American cultures. From the interaction between the various sources, the task of interpretation yields meaning or at least hypotheses that can later be confirmed or abandoned as times passes. At the end of the semester, all groups present the results of their investigation to both classes in the form of a website in which they attempt to show the nuances of the topic they chose. In essence, these groups of students constitute communities of inquiry, that is to say, an environment where the educational experience – and with it the production of knowledge and understanding – is situated at the intersection of social presence (participants’ ability to project themselves into the moment/community), cognitive presence (critical reflection and meaning construction through collaboration), and teaching presence (the teacher’s ability to design the environment and facilitate the learning process).
In such learning environments, the use of technology is manifold as learners turn into ethnographers or qualitative researchers, a methodological framework that lends itself to the qualitative description of human and social phenomena and, appropriately, tends to adopt a holistic approach to phenomena that cannot be easily isolated from each other. Since a culture is always an aggregated construct of multi-faceted perceptions these different perceptions have to be taken into account as they influence and shape each other. Thus, acquiring cultural literacy is not so much acquiring a checklist of knowledge, as developing awareness of the relation between selfhood and otherness. Consequently, understanding does not come from the individual’s own observation and knowledge construction but through human interactions. This electronic learning environment is based on three core principles: slowing down the learning experience to make development more sustainable, making thinking visible, and creating a culture of reflective practices. To this effect, writing journals proves an effective source of cultural exploration for learners. They are also an effective technique to have learners reflect on what they have discovered and how it affects them as the project can – and probably does – challenge their values and beliefs.
In closing, I will say that I believe a successful teacher is responsible for the quality of speech and the level of energy that he brings into the classroom. He achieves success through knowledge of content as well as by fostering good relationships – between himself and his students on the one hand, and among students on the other hand – so that teaching and learning can take place. I hope that the previous example demonstrates that both are strengths of mine, strengths through which I strive to meet the high standards I set for myself as I help students to achieve their goals and their potential. My teaching efforts have garnered recognition through high Student Assessment of Instruction System (SAIS) scores, as well as two nominations to the College’s Junior Teaching Award (in 2009 and 2010), the latter resulting in my receiving the award.
For teaching interests, a list of courses taught, and research supervision, see Curriculum Vitae.
They said...
Please click here to be directed to a few documents that I was honored to receive and that pertain to my teaching.