My philosophy of instruction rests on fostering self-instruction, formulating questions rather than answers, and establishing high expectations. I believe that teachers have limited ability to teach students anything. Instead, they can only motivate students to teach themselves. Therefore, I use Socratic methods in the classroom because the ability to ask questions is integral to self-instruction. My primary pedagogical role is to help students learn how to search for and construct a complete answer as we work through the question-and-answer process. My goal is to stimulate active learning, appreciation for the art of questioning, and comfort with the idea that being wrong is a part of learning. In short, I seek to move students beyond the only occupation where the question is provided, i.e. being a student, to a continuous process of asking and answering questions, i.e. becoming a self-directed learner.
Establishing high expectations can create an abrasive atmosphere. To avoid this, I need to inject empathy and humanness into the learning process by getting to know my students as individuals and as a class. A key is a series of evaluation, including (1) inviting students to my office for conversation and an oral evaluation of the class, (2) an extensive end-of-quarter evaluation, and (3) a one-page evaluation during the quarter. Extensive use of evaluation permits the course to be adjusted during the quarter, as well as permitting a continuous check on quality.
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