What is my teaching philosophy?
I believe to teach well in our culture today, given the predominant political and economic paradigms, I must resist the temptation to succumb to the traditional idea of students as empty vessels into which we, as teachers, pour knowledge. I find it ineffective and unfulfilling to view students merely as "Full-time Equivalents," products on an assembly line, passing through a series of classes on the way to receiving their final certificate of quality approval, a diploma. In this mechanical process, students often expect teachers to give them the knowledge they seek and prepare themselves to recall that knowledge on demand. While I find many traditional institutions are beginning to talk about a new pedagogy, most do not seem truly open to new ways of structuring the classroom and evaluating students’ progress.
I am consistently seeking new and better ways of teaching and learning. A part of that process has brought me to The Evergreen State College. Here I can explore non-traditional paths, paths which will help students in my courses do more than just accumulate knowledge to regenerate on a test. I feel a special commitment to ask my students to do more than that because of my discipline – business. It seems almost unethical to me to graduate a student who has shown a very high business acumen, but who has not yet shown the ability to think on his or her own feet. Business is one of the strongest, most influential pillars in our society and I feel a responsibility to help students become aware of their connections to this society at large. While at times my teaching has caused students and administration to ask "What is Kennedy doing now?," I know that my teaching philosophy has helped many students make that connection to a larger system. I would like to offer a few examples that illustrate how my teaching philosophy can help students make that connection.
One of the predominant aspects of my teaching philosophy is a belief that anyone can learn if they set their heart to it. To me this means low-income, under-privileged students as well as high-income, very-privileged students. It means Native Americans, Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics, heterosexuals, gays, lesbians, children and adults of all ages. This has been a very important concept, especially in the community college setting where I began my teaching and where many students have been told they "can’t learn" and may have had bad experiences and little success in higher educational systems. But I celebrate the fact that we all can learn in ways that go beyond simply knowledge accumulation and regeneration on a test. For me, learning happens when there has been connection, connection on two fronts: within the brain and within the learning community. Fostering these connections is the key to my teaching.
Brain research has shown that learning occurs when new organic structures develop in the brain. But new structures grow only off what is already there. Thus, while it is possible for all students to grow new organic structures in their brain, every new unit, skill or concept must start by connecting to something the student already knows. Because today’s students represent a myriad of backgrounds, individual starting points may be vastly different than that of the teacher’s. Simple activities, such as "write down what you already know about the GNP" or background knowledge probes, can go a long way in helping students and teachers develop mutual starting points that connect new learning to prior experiences. Such probes can be written, worked out in large group, or used in small break-out groups.
Another way to connect new ideas to structures already in the brain is the seminar. Seminaring is particularly powerful because it actually makes connections in both areas: the brain and the community. Learning is centered in the students who begin discussions from within the context of their own experience. In this setting, teaching and learning are intertwined as students and teachers share knowledge, challenge each other’s assumptions and hone each other’s analytical skills. When a member of the community doesn’t quite understand some aspect of an issue, he or she is never dismissed as "incapable" of learning. Rather, issues can be discussed from different perspectives, helping students connect to what they already know as well as create community. I first introduced book seminaring in my Principles of Management course in 1993 at Tacoma Community College. I couldn't imagine teaching without seminaring.
While book seminars have been a good way to create a safe environment which allows students to really challenge ideas and take risks, learning communities can be created in a variety of ways. For me, this includes soliciting student input for course objectives, constant awareness of learning styles and use of classroom assessment techniques. One of the hallmarks of my teaching has been the use of experiential activities to challenge students to problem-solve together.
Experiential activities are sequences of manageable challenges designed so that a group of students must cooperate to achieve a solution. They require students to learn and practice a number of skills: goal-setting, problem-solving, values clarification, trust and conflict management, all important skills to use in the business world. The activities are presented as a learning process, one that is continually evolving and changing. Since most students will never have conceived of doing the activities before, they do not come with prior knowledge or expectations. In this way, all participants are starting from ground zero and they build community from there. This process creates a safe environment with a "game-like atmosphere" where students are encouraged to take risks and reach outside their previous ways of being and thinking to generate new ideas. They become more attuned to their potential for learning and expanding. Whichever process or activity is used, the ends are remarkable. Students feel ideas are valued within the group, unlikely to be dismissed. They are more in touch with their own unique ideas which can build upon their prior learning (existing brain structure). Many of these activities have their foundation in professional development organizations located around the country. Large companies such as Honda, Coca-Cola or Centel, as well as small businesses operating locally, are recognizing experiential education as a key to creating community within an organization. This is not surprising to me as I have long used them to create a community conducive to thinking and learning in the classroom.
In sum, whether I teach in a traditional institution, or a non-traditional institution, my teaching philosophy is the same. I strive to create a safe community where students are free to learn in their own way. Free to broaden their horizons. Free to challenge existing systems. Free to become architects of their own systems. Teaching is an honor for me, an honor I do not take lightly.
