My Teaching philosophy

Background

My personal values are respect, integrity, continuous learning, and fun.

My teaching philosophy is always evolving. I am a continuous learner, and my pedagogical approach is constantly being informed from my own classroom experiences, learning from my peers, through industry consultation, and from best practices in emergent research

I believe teaching should be learner-centric.

In my classroom experience and through assessment design, I strive to create an environment where learners feel empowered and equipped to succeed. I do this through a mixture of encouraging positive and respectful dialogue and inquiry. I use both formal and informal active and collaborative learning strategies and ensure multiple touchpoints for feedback. I also believe that optimal learning experiences are those which are informed by evidence and shaped by learner feedback.

I believe business education should be hyper-relevant.

As a business educator one way I measure success is by how much I ensure alignment between the current and future demands of employers and the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of my graduates. I strive to make all content as relevant as possible by increasing learner engagement and curiosity.

I also understand that upholding the brand equity of the universities I work for means ensuring our grads are workforce ready. I also actively participate in business events and professional associations, and work to build and nurture my network to seek informal feedback on current employer needs.

I believe the learning environment must be positive, safe, and fun

Learners must feel safe to learn, to fail, to be wrong, to improve, to speak up, to disagree respectfully, to defend opinions, and to champion ideas. I also believe class should be fun! When class is fun, learners want to attend, they want to learn, and they want to engage. I strive to achieve this environment through setting clear expectations, encouraging participation, empowering learners with resources, and using a diversity of delivery methodologies and assessment strategies.

I believe learners must be empowered to take full ownership of their learning experience.

I encourage self-ownership of learning through providing multiple opportunities for practice, a commitment to meeting with learners 1-1 if needed, and ensuring a safe environment in class where learners feel ok to make mistakes and learn from failure. I ensure alignment between course outcomes and my teaching and assessment methods. For assessments, I provide and explain detailed rubrics, use exemplars where appropriate, and dedicate class time to check-in with learners and use those opportunities to reflect on understanding and seek understanding. I am also a believer in authentic assessment practices and have been actively looking for ways to apply those methodologies to my course delivery.

I believe in harnessing the power of diversity.

Diversity is a strength of our great country. The diversity of life experiences, attitudes, opinions, and values from our learner population enriches everyone’s learning experience. As an educator with experience teaching students from all backgrounds, I understand the barriers many of our minority communities face and I am committed to the principles of anti-discrimination, reconciliation, and decolonization.