Teaching Statement
Doing philosophy in the classroom has changed my life; and it's a privilege to be able to connect with students on subject matter that has the potential to change their lives as well. Thus, in creating a philosophy course and delivering the course material it is always important for me to deliver the course material in a way that can be absorbed by as many students as possible. I consider a philosophy course to be a successful one if a majority of students can articulate their views coherently and properly understand what those views may entail. Although there are a number of central factors that contribute to creating a successful course in philosophy. I will focus on what I take to be the three most important.
First, is course content. A challenging and successful philosophy course must have apt content. The readings must be appropriately pitched, they should meet the student where they are, and motivate them to read even more. Early in a course I try to assign readings that help to elucidate general problems and as the semester progresses I assign more critical readings that address nuanced positions in whatever debate we are covering. In introductory courses I have found that students respond favorably to shorter assignments. Often times students are not sure if they can do philosophy, I find that when students are able to work through a short piece of philosophy with success, this helps them to see that philosophy is something that they can do. Building confidence makes it easier for them to probe with interesting questions which in turn helps to aid in fruitful classroom discussions. In upper division courses, longer and more challenging readings are fitting, not just because the students are more capable, but also because upper level students expect to be taken more seriously as students of philosophy. Regardless of the level of the course, however, I make it a point to stress what the goals of philosophy are; to hone critical thinking skills with the goal of furthering our understanding of concepts that are often central to our lives. Showing students the relevance of the content of the course to their everyday lives helps to keep them engaged in their course work as does making sure that the authors are diverse in a few ways.
Second is classroom engagement and delivery of course material. In an excellent philosophy course engagement both in and outside the classroom is central to a student's development. To foster such engagement I assign group projects, papers, and exams, and assignments that utilize technology, and not as ends in themselves. One example of using technology both inside and outside of the classroom that has worked well for me is twitter. I have students tweet 10 articles related to the course material throughout the semester using a specified hashtag that I give them during the first week of class. This serves two purposes: first, it encourages students to look for alternative sources and engage with material not assigned in the class. It also serves a depository for relevant sources when it comes time to write their final papers. The hashtag generates all of the material tweeted during the semester which ends up being between 800-1000 sources that students can reference quite easily. This assignment fosters skills that many students already have and utilizes them by applying them to the classroom setting to make their transition into the classroom that much easier. Likewise, a good paper assignment not only requires knowledge of the relevant arguments and theories, but also helps students to improve their ability to write concise, effective prose and to organize their thoughts appropriately. Tools that are important to master for a number of scenarios students may find themselves in in the future, both inside and outside the academic institution. To help students prepare for an exam or to write a paper I offer clear and concise direction; the same for group work. I have found that group work, particularly group presentations, can help students get excited about philosophy. As long as the class size is permitting this strategy can be most effective to get students excited and engaged in future class discussion. Also, and much to my surprise, an effective tool for engagement has been the incorporation of social media both inside and outside of the classroom. Twitter has been a useful tool for sharing articles related to the course and students have seemed to take well to this approach. The class hash-tag, as mentioned earlier, has also been used for research purposes when students are preparing to write their papers. This takes minimal class time to introduce to students for a very good payoff. And the most recent pedagogical tool that I have utilized in the classroom at both Bridgewater State University and Northeastern University is a self-assessment exercise focused on their class participation. I give them a rubric for what class participation should look like for full marks and have them assess themselves with both a score and in one paragraph to justify the score they gave themselves given the provided rubric. I have found this exercise to be fruitful in having students recognize for themselves where they can improve while also providing a space for students to give themselves some credit for overcoming the obstacles they faced during the semester. In future courses I plan to give this assignment both at the middle of the semester and then again at the end of the semester to give them time to improve on their participation performance in real time rather than only after the course has been completed.
Lastly, and arguably most important, is that an excellent philosophy course requires an inspiring and well-prepared instructor. An engaging lecture rarely happens by accident. Although the lecture has come under scrutiny as of late, I do believe that it can be one of the most effective pedagogical tools available if done properly. My lecture style incorporates dialogues with my students and constant examples from them and from other real-world scenarios. I try to keep in mind the various styles of presentation that I found most interesting and engaging as a university student and how I wanted to be treated by professors. Inspiring professors get excited about ideas and leave the student with the notion that what they are discussing is important. Some of the ways I try to convince students that what we are discussing is important is by using contemporary examples and offering practical applications. I am always enthusiastic and have found that employing appropriate vocal energy and body language helps to keep the course inspiring. I take pride in the passion I have for Philosophy and try to get this across to my students in a variety of ways. If I can earn the attention of a student, I have a chance to inspire and teach effectively.
Thus far I have taught 14 different courses (106 in all as I have taught the same courses multiple times). Class sizes have ranged from 12 students in an upper level Social/Political Philosophy class to as many as 100 students when teaching large sections of intro ethics at the University of Calgary. My normal class sizes range from 20-40 students.
Doing philosophy in the classroom has changed my life; and it's a privilege to be able to connect with students on subject matter that has the potential to change their lives as well. Thus, in creating a philosophy course and delivering the course material it is always important for me to deliver the course material in a way that can be absorbed by as many students as possible. I consider a philosophy course to be a successful one if a majority of students can articulate their views coherently and properly understand what those views may entail. Although there are a number of central factors that contribute to creating a successful course in philosophy. I will focus on what I take to be the three most important.
First, is course content. A challenging and successful philosophy course must have apt content. The readings must be appropriately pitched, they should meet the student where they are, and motivate them to read even more. Early in a course I try to assign readings that help to elucidate general problems and as the semester progresses I assign more critical readings that address nuanced positions in whatever debate we are covering. In introductory courses I have found that students respond favorably to shorter assignments. Often times students are not sure if they can do philosophy, I find that when students are able to work through a short piece of philosophy with success, this helps them to see that philosophy is something that they can do. Building confidence makes it easier for them to probe with interesting questions which in turn helps to aid in fruitful classroom discussions. In upper division courses, longer and more challenging readings are fitting, not just because the students are more capable, but also because upper level students expect to be taken more seriously as students of philosophy. Regardless of the level of the course, however, I make it a point to stress what the goals of philosophy are; to hone critical thinking skills with the goal of furthering our understanding of concepts that are often central to our lives. Showing students the relevance of the content of the course to their everyday lives helps to keep them engaged in their course work as does making sure that the authors are diverse in a few ways.
Second is classroom engagement and delivery of course material. In an excellent philosophy course engagement both in and outside the classroom is central to a student's development. To foster such engagement I assign group projects, papers, and exams, and assignments that utilize technology, and not as ends in themselves. One example of using technology both inside and outside of the classroom that has worked well for me is twitter. I have students tweet 10 articles related to the course material throughout the semester using a specified hashtag that I give them during the first week of class. This serves two purposes: first, it encourages students to look for alternative sources and engage with material not assigned in the class. It also serves a depository for relevant sources when it comes time to write their final papers. The hashtag generates all of the material tweeted during the semester which ends up being between 800-1000 sources that students can reference quite easily. This assignment fosters skills that many students already have and utilizes them by applying them to the classroom setting to make their transition into the classroom that much easier. Likewise, a good paper assignment not only requires knowledge of the relevant arguments and theories, but also helps students to improve their ability to write concise, effective prose and to organize their thoughts appropriately. Tools that are important to master for a number of scenarios students may find themselves in in the future, both inside and outside the academic institution. To help students prepare for an exam or to write a paper I offer clear and concise direction; the same for group work. I have found that group work, particularly group presentations, can help students get excited about philosophy. As long as the class size is permitting this strategy can be most effective to get students excited and engaged in future class discussion. Also, and much to my surprise, an effective tool for engagement has been the incorporation of social media both inside and outside of the classroom. Twitter has been a useful tool for sharing articles related to the course and students have seemed to take well to this approach. The class hash-tag, as mentioned earlier, has also been used for research purposes when students are preparing to write their papers. This takes minimal class time to introduce to students for a very good payoff. And the most recent pedagogical tool that I have utilized in the classroom at both Bridgewater State University and Northeastern University is a self-assessment exercise focused on their class participation. I give them a rubric for what class participation should look like for full marks and have them assess themselves with both a score and in one paragraph to justify the score they gave themselves given the provided rubric. I have found this exercise to be fruitful in having students recognize for themselves where they can improve while also providing a space for students to give themselves some credit for overcoming the obstacles they faced during the semester. In future courses I plan to give this assignment both at the middle of the semester and then again at the end of the semester to give them time to improve on their participation performance in real time rather than only after the course has been completed.
Lastly, and arguably most important, is that an excellent philosophy course requires an inspiring and well-prepared instructor. An engaging lecture rarely happens by accident. Although the lecture has come under scrutiny as of late, I do believe that it can be one of the most effective pedagogical tools available if done properly. My lecture style incorporates dialogues with my students and constant examples from them and from other real-world scenarios. I try to keep in mind the various styles of presentation that I found most interesting and engaging as a university student and how I wanted to be treated by professors. Inspiring professors get excited about ideas and leave the student with the notion that what they are discussing is important. Some of the ways I try to convince students that what we are discussing is important is by using contemporary examples and offering practical applications. I am always enthusiastic and have found that employing appropriate vocal energy and body language helps to keep the course inspiring. I take pride in the passion I have for Philosophy and try to get this across to my students in a variety of ways. If I can earn the attention of a student, I have a chance to inspire and teach effectively.
Thus far I have taught 14 different courses (106 in all as I have taught the same courses multiple times). Class sizes have ranged from 12 students in an upper level Social/Political Philosophy class to as many as 100 students when teaching large sections of intro ethics at the University of Calgary. My normal class sizes range from 20-40 students.