Perspectives on Teaching and the Scholarship of Teaching
For me, scholarship, teaching and service are not really three separate aspects of my university life. They should form a portrait of my university identity in the way that a photomosaic uses hundreds or thousands of small, individual images to create one new, related image that gives a new meaning or interpretation to all the individual images. When examined closely one can indeed identify something that I would call a research agenda, a list of service-related activities, and teaching materials and activities. However, one looked at from a distance one sees a unified, related and recognizable professional identity and purpose.
Of course there will be occasional "outliers" that don't really fit the portrayed -- a course taught to help the department fill a temporary need, a service activity to which one is elected or that no one else would take, or a paper or publication written simply because an opportunity arose but for which they'll be no further use or development. Those activities may have some meaning or meet a legitimate need at the time but they can't be considered a definable or integral part of a deliberately created professional image.
Of course there will be occasional "outliers" that don't really fit the portrayed -- a course taught to help the department fill a temporary need, a service activity to which one is elected or that no one else would take, or a paper or publication written simply because an opportunity arose but for which they'll be no further use or development. Those activities may have some meaning or meet a legitimate need at the time but they can't be considered a definable or integral part of a deliberately created professional image.
Teaching Belief Statements
In the links below you will find my general statement of beliefs (not necessarily a "philosophy") related to how I perceive my role as a teacher. I have created a separate undergraduate and graduate statement because, while I believe some of my beliefs and commitments are equally applicable to when I taught 5th grade and when I teach doctoral level courses, there are obvious differences in the students involved, the purposes of each level of education, and the content involved that require significant differences in how I approach my teaching. If you are one of my students, these statements will give you a good idea of what you can expect from me, from our teacher-student relationship and from the outcomes of any course you take from me.
Undergraduate
Graduate
In the links below you will find my general statement of beliefs (not necessarily a "philosophy") related to how I perceive my role as a teacher. I have created a separate undergraduate and graduate statement because, while I believe some of my beliefs and commitments are equally applicable to when I taught 5th grade and when I teach doctoral level courses, there are obvious differences in the students involved, the purposes of each level of education, and the content involved that require significant differences in how I approach my teaching. If you are one of my students, these statements will give you a good idea of what you can expect from me, from our teacher-student relationship and from the outcomes of any course you take from me.
Undergraduate
Graduate
Influences on My Teaching
Two sources in particular are influencing the ways in which I am planning my current classes. For several years now I have attended summer workshops in NYC sponsored by the Lincoln Center Institute. Their work on aesthetic education and imagination -- influenced by the work of Maxine Greene and John Dewey (among others) -- has been inspiring and challenging as I try to improve my own teaching.
The Foxfire Program has also helped me rethink what it means to educate young people in a democratic way and to apply Dewey's ideas in a practical and meaningful way. My attendance at a week-long workshop on Foxfire's "Core Practices" at the Foxfire Heritage Center helped me understand the assumptions of the program much better. The presentations by students in the original program (begun nearly 50 years ago) and by students currently in the program were especially powerful.
Two sources in particular are influencing the ways in which I am planning my current classes. For several years now I have attended summer workshops in NYC sponsored by the Lincoln Center Institute. Their work on aesthetic education and imagination -- influenced by the work of Maxine Greene and John Dewey (among others) -- has been inspiring and challenging as I try to improve my own teaching.
The Foxfire Program has also helped me rethink what it means to educate young people in a democratic way and to apply Dewey's ideas in a practical and meaningful way. My attendance at a week-long workshop on Foxfire's "Core Practices" at the Foxfire Heritage Center helped me understand the assumptions of the program much better. The presentations by students in the original program (begun nearly 50 years ago) and by students currently in the program were especially powerful.