Teaching Philosophy

I believe that every person, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and mental or physical capacity deserves the opportunity to learn and grow to their fullest potential. This core belief has guided me to many different roles, from being a preschool teaching assistant, to founding an education-focused non-profit, to studying educational policy and the learning sciences, to teaching English abroad, and ultimately to pursuing a career school psychology in hopes of supporting students’ ability to learn and teachers’ ability to teach. By helping to train future school psychologists, I can maximize my individual impact by helping to develop their expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior, which will have a trickle-down effect on students, teachers, and even school systems at-large. Whether I am working with preschoolers or college students, three primary goals undergird my teaching style: (1) To equip minds; (2) To spark curiosity; and (3) To unlock potential.

Equip Minds. I believe in making intentional efforts to provide students with the skills and resources they will need to be successful in the classroom. This includes cultivating an environment that promotes and enhances learning. Students will thrive the most if they feel safe to be themselves and if they feel their voices are being heard, both individually and collectively. I prioritize fostering a classroom dynamic that honors diversity in all forms, and as an instructor I do my best to meet students where they are at by attending and responding to their needs. For example, one of my positions while living abroad involved teaching “business English” to students pursuing their associates degree in management. While the focus of the course was speaking English, at the start of the year none of my students were willing to utter more than a word of English aloud. After getting to know my students, I found out that most of them had internalized strong negative beliefs about themselves and their abilities. So, in addition to launching into grammar and vocabulary, we spent several months working on building confidence and finding the courage to make mistakes because that is how we learn. To ensure that all students could engage in the course material, I offered multiple opportunities for different kinds of participation, from sharing in class to posting in online forums.  We also spent quite a bit of time fostering a culture of listening and respect for one another so that students would be willing to feel vulnerable. Additionally, I created several opportunities for self-reflection and regularly prompted students to note their improvements. By listening to my students and paying attention to where they were at, I was able to equip them with tools (i.e., confidence and a willingness to make mistakes) that they would ultimately need to embark on the path of learning English, while providing them with the resources required to get there.

Spark Curiosity. As a teacher, I do not believe that it is my role to hand students knowledge, as doing so detracts from the joy and satisfaction of scholarship. Instead, I see it as my role to model passion and enthusiasm for the subject area, and to inspire students to dive deep into the content as well as the learning process. One way I seek to do this is through meaningful and relevant content. By this, I mean that I strive to make the course content immediately and personally valuable to students by drawing on concrete, relevant examples, and asking students to share personal experiences. In educational psychology or related fields, this often involves integrating theory and science with students’ real-world practical experiences, which often stem from their fieldwork. I strive to create space for this type of learning to occur by incorporating active learning activities and facilitating dynamic discussion during each class meeting. During these dialogues, which serve the purpose of illustrating key concepts, I play the role of curator while allowing students to fill the space with their own ideas and stories.  I believe that building upon students’ outside experiences to inform instruction leads to stronger intrinsic motivation and greater mastery over the material as they are more likely to feel ownership over their learning and ultimately to apply what they have learned outside the classroom. 

 In addition to the content and structure of the course itself, I aim to spark curiosity through my demeanor and interactions with students. My exuberance for the content areas that I teach is evident, as is my appreciation for scientific inquiry and the prospect of uncovering new ways of helping more kids. I put time and thought into my lectures, and strive to make them interesting and engaging by incorporating ample visuals and minimal text. I seek to model a commitment to lifelong learning, and embody this through the questions I ask of my students and my eagerness to learn from them. Through sheer honesty about the boundaries of my competence and expertise, I hope to communicate that not knowing is okay, provided we continue to seek answers and broaden our capabilities. In my teaching paradigm, I emphasize mastery over performance, and encourage students to self-reflect on was they can enhance and refine their skills. I also model this core value by soliciting feedback from students about how to improve my teaching and enhance the relevancy of the course content.

 Unlock Potential. In addition to providing students with the tools they need to be successful and igniting their interest in the material, I believe an additional responsibility of a teacher is to help unlock students’ potential. I view teaching as a relational process, and thus, cultivating positive and supportive relationships with students is paramount to this step of teaching in my opinion. I have had the privilege of working with students from a range of cultural backgrounds, and this has helped me to refine my ability to establish and maintain strong relationships with students. As a first step, I strive to get to know all my students, including their names, interests, and professional aspirations. I greet my students with intention at the door when they enter the room, and I follow-up regarding events happening in their lives. This gesture signals to my students that I am interested in who they are as individuals and lets them know that I am paying attention. I also approach my interactions with students with authenticity and utilize appropriate self-disclosure to strengthen the bond that we have. Once I have laid the foundation for a solid relationship with my students, I embark on the next step of challenging them to engage meaningfully with assignments and class discussions. In doing so, I recognize the unique contribution each student can make when they apply themselves, and I convey my belief in their abilities. I provide positive feedback as much as possible and express appreciation for the ideas and perspectives they share. I seek to provide the support needed for each student to continue to work towards their professional goals, and I hope to be someone that students feel they can rely on for assistance in achieving them.