My Teaching Philosophy Statement

‘Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.’ —Theodore Roosevelt

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My philosophy of teaching continues to evolve with each opportunity provided to deliver learning, refine my skills and gain experience. The guiding principle that remains constant is that I am passionate about learning, a strong believer in improving my methods and have a solid foundation of adult learning principles which I draw upon to determine the best approach to learning.

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In preparing for teaching; some of the questions that I ask myself as I plan are:

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• What are my objectives and how will I evaluate?

• Do I know the background and culture of my students?

• Is the learning that we are engaging in being delivered in a manner that captures interest and is interactive?  

• What learning methods will work best for the group and for participants?

• Am I considering attention span and providing activities to ensure that students are kept engaged?

• Are the resources I will use appropriate for the session?

• Do I have a back-up plan in case resources do not work such as audiovisuals?

• What types of questions will I ask?

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 All this and more are important to me and helps me prepare effectively before I get in the classroom.

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I use many strategies to keep students engaged. For example, I carefully design my presentations, enrich with storytelling and ensure that the images included in my presentations are relevant and of the highest quality. I also like to include a video and also some form of gamification and or group activity to keep learners engaged, and to ask the right questions and to think effectively.

Creating an active, safe and open learning environment where all learners feel that they can respectfully express their views and opinions is key to learning. This enables students to make the connections between how different topics connect and complement each other. When students see the links between these concepts, they are more likely to continue making these connections outside the classroom.

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Mandatory corporate training that can be deemed by participants as repetitive and boring such as policy or regulation related, in delivery of the learning I encourage learners to ask questions, which leads them to adopt analytical thinking and promote problem-solving skills.

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 I strive to be a self-reflective teacher and a problem solver, and I constantly look for ways to improve and advance my knowledge. By following the latest best practices related to teaching techniques and learning philosophies, I find areas in my approach that can be updated, enhanced and expanded and I try to incorporate in my teaching.

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Evaluating the effectiveness of training is very essential to me as this feedback helps me improve the quality of my instruction and also helps keep me grounded. As a teacher I want to be viewed as fair, respectful of differences in views and opinions; this is important to me and helps me determine how I can best approach my students and relate to them in the classroom. Being available for one-to one-time before and after the class as well as reasonable time via email allows students who prefer to ask for additional help at that time to do so.

I constantly seek new ways to make the learning materials appeal even more to the students’ curiosity, to make better use of class time, and to introduce new instructional tools that further recognize diverse learning styles.

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 I believe that my teaching skills should continuously improve, and I consistently work towards this goal. Love of learning was the initial reason that led me to pursue a Certificate in Adult Education.  Every day I work hard in my current role and at the same time make myself available to my team to deliver training on a need basis to our Customer Contact Center.

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The opportunities that have been provided to teach continue to be an enormous source of personal reward and inspiration.