Teaching Philosophy

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

As an instructor, I find that many students are concerned with the application of their education in their future employment, and sometimes struggle to see a connection between course content and so-called real life. My goal for students is to provide them with skills and knowledge that will be useful in both their future jobs and the rest of their life. To this end, in the classroom, I focus on bridging my course content with outside of the classroom life. For example, when teaching communication theory, I showed scenes from popular television shows and movies to exemplify the theory of the day and encouraged students to think about the application of the theory at hand in their own lives. This was reflected on positively in the qualitative feedback for the course when students responded with comments such as: “I liked the video examples she would use on a day to day basis because it related back what we were learning to things that we watch and see everyday,” “She would sometimes have us watch videos to get a better understanding of what we were learning,” and “I also thought certain videos shown in class help gave a basic understanding of certain theories.” My professional experience as a corporate trainer is useful for even the basic course when I share with students how helpful public speaking skills were in my job, both when delivering web-based and in-person training as well as day-to-day presentations during meetings. In this way, I encourage students to see the value of classroom content in their present and future lives outside of school.

To encourage critical thinking with the world around them, I have a high value on student engagement in the classroom, and critical engagement with the material I teach. For example, while teaching communication theory, I introduced what I called the “duh” concept. At the end of each class discussion about a theory, I would ask them if they think this theory is useful for gaining a better understanding of the world around them, or does it merely observe behavior that most people have already internalized, in other words, does it pass the “duh” test? This simple to understand and quick evaluation provided a way for students to engage with material that was a combination of academic research, textbook concepts, and real-life examples I just presented and distill it down to what they found helpful or not, and more importantly, why. Quantitatively, this is reflected in my course evaluations for the theory class where in answer to the statement “The instructor stimulated independent thinking,” the answer averaged a 1.46 on a Likert scale where 1 is “strongly agree,” with 23 of 37 respondents answering 1.

During class time, I focus on balancing providing information and practicing application through activities, workshops, or group work. In the fall of 2018, I taught my first repeated course, Introduction to Public Speaking, and used the extra preparation time I had to refine the workshops for each speech to be more clearly directed through worksheets or online modules. One issue I found in my first term teaching was that students find it overwhelming to use the library resources to find academic sources, so I developed an online presentation and workshop to walk them through using our library reference search and the process for vetting a source for relevancy and reliability. When evaluating the assignment associated with this workshop, I found that students had much higher quality sources than past courses and seemed to have a better understanding of the process of finding sources for the rest of the term. Students responded favorably to this balance in the classroom, providing feedback one evaluations such as: “The in-class activities she has students participate in makes learning course content more enjoyable,” “She was always enthusiastic when coming to class. She would make her PowerPoints and activities interesting and something we would be engaged and entertained with. She was super open and I felt very comfortable coming to her or raising my hand in class when I had a question,” “I felt the instructor did a good job with making discussions interesting in the class and really getting the class involved with the material,” and “Very good instructor, who lead great class discussions.”

Similarly, in the introduction to media studies course, I focus on combining concepts of critical media literacy, social-cultural creation, and the media economy as an industry. I build upon the students' existing knowledge and opinions, drawing out evidence-based discussions and exercises where they have the opportunity to examine media artifacts in a way that is new to them. For example, in the second week of class, the student groups chose SuperBowl advertisements to analyze. Using a five-step process of critical analysis, the students worked on writing a description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagement with a commercial they saw the previous day during the SuperBowl. This activity gave the students a real-world use of the critical literacy concepts we will work on the entire semester. Creating an environment where students are willing to discuss topics that may be challenging is important. In this same course, when we discussed media literacy, we also connected it to engagement with journalism and popular culture portrayals of traditionally marginalized groups. These discussions can only occur with a purposefully created foundation of mutual respect and a sense of safety and trust in the classroom.

A pedagogical practice of diversity also requires vigilance and continued education. To this end, I seek out seminars and opportunities to continue to educate myself about best practices in engaging diversity in my classroom. During the 2018-2019 school year, I attended several workshops entitled “pizza and pedagogy” where discussions surrounded topics such as encouraging respectful dialogue and best practices for welcoming trans and nonbinary students into the classroom. Since my appointment at Miami University, I have been accepted into the New Faculty Teaching Enhancement Program, a semester-long program where I will work on pedagogical efforts including approaching a diversity of learning styles, working with therapy animals, and maker-centered learning.

As an instructor, I strive to connect academic theories with real-world application. This philosophy aims to achieve two main goals: first, students who can use classroom concepts in their future jobs, and second, activated citizens who have the tools to engage with the world around them. Through readings, lectures, discussions, assignments, and activities, I endeavor to show students that their University education and the work we put in together will serve them for the rest of their lives. From the first day of class, I enforce that I want students to know that I want them to succeed and I want them to feel comfortable discussing with me the ways in which my classroom can help them to learn. Student feedback on my commitment to working with students includes comments such as “She is willing to work with students outside of the classroom to ensure they understand content,” “I really liked Ms. Fisher because she communicated with me about my work and grades. I liked this because it helped me to succeed in her class. I also liked that she was very willing to meet outside of class and helpful when doing so,” and “She has been super kind and fun the entire semester. She has also been very understanding for the way every person learns and speaks.” Some of the specific ways that I have worked with students to meet their unique needs include reviewing drafts and recordings of their speeches, delivering quizzes and exams in alternative formats, ensuring accessibility of text readings, offering access to my discussion notes, providing extensions on assignments in extenuating circumstances, and emphasizing help that I can provide outside of class.