Philosophy of Teaching

Nancy Tatarek
Anthropology
The Ohio State University

My teaching philosophy is based around these concepts.

Passion: I believe that a teacher is someone who is passionate about a topic and equally passionate about communicating that topic to others.

Communication: Effective teaching not only involves being passionate about a subject, but being able to convey it to students in such a way that they will understand it, but additionally, be able to then think about the subject and apply it in some way to their lives.

Fairness: I believe in being fair as a teacher, which to me means being able to understand what students are going through as individuals and as students. It means treating students with an impartial attitude, but not an uncaring attitude.

Learning: All too often, students come into a classroom and simply respond by rote or memory to what the instructor is teaching. True learning involves active thinking. I believe the best classrooms are those where both the teacher and the students learn from each other.

Challenging: Teaching should challenge both the teacher and the student. Teachers should be challenged to try to deliver course materials in different ways and from different perspectives. Students should be challenged by the teacher and the course materials.

Fun: I believe that learning should be fun. This does not mean necessarily frivolous, but fun. It seems a tried and true method of learning that is sometimes forgotten: the best learning often occurs during 'play' or play-like situations. If a teacher can ascribe a sense of fun in the classroom, I believe that the benefits are great.

Humor: Every successful teacher must have humor. Stand-up comedy is not necessary, but laughter goes a long way in showing the students that the teacher is just a person, like themselves.

Caring: A teacher must care for the students, first and foremost. For the subject, and for the entire learning process.

Individuality: Teachers should recognize individuality in their students. Every student has a life, a story, thoughts, and feelings that they bring with them to the classroom and the learning process.

Questioning: All too often, students regard instructors and the material they present as the final authority on any and all lecture material and information. I believe that students should be encouraged to question course material, to turn it over in their minds and question its validity. Science is all about questioning, and no progress was ever made without it.

Flexibility: When I construct a course syllabus, I have an excellent idea of how the course will proceed. However, I always leave room to adapt to student interests and concerns. Class discussions are sometimes difficult enough to engender without squashing them because of adherence to a schedule.

Applied learning: Throughout much of my undergraduate career, the courses I learned the most from and remember to this day were the courses that enabled me to take concepts and apply them to something concrete. I have always attempted to utilize this in my own teaching, arranging as many 'hands on' experiences for my students as possible.

Real world: Occasionally I hear from students that they find it difficult to attach concepts to their own lives. I try, in my teaching, to give students a 'take home' message in what they learn. I bring in current events, local, national and international, whenever possible so that students may link what they learn in class with the world around them.