Introduction
This philosophy of teaching statement is a reflection of my personal values, needs of my students, my department and Ghana as a whole. Included in this philosophy are four thematic areas and their related questions that I would like to address. These are
1. My aims of teaching or why do I teach?
2. The means/methods that I use to achieve my aims or by what means do I achieve my aims?
3. The importance that I attach to teaching or why do I do what I do best in teaching?
1. My aims/objectives of teaching
I would premise my aims of teaching on a paraphrased definition of education by Wikipedia encyclopedia which defined it as “a conscious and deliberate effort to create an atmosphere of learning and the learning process so that learners are actively developing their potential for virtues/traits such as spiritual growth, self-control, good personality, intelligence, noble character and the skills needed by themselves and the society”. I believe that every student is unique in one way or another and needs a secure, caring and invigorating/stimulating atmosphere in which to thrive/grow and mature emotionally, intellectual, physically and socially. This belief is underlined by Ghana’s philosophy of education which states that “the education system should create well-balanced (intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, physically) individuals with the requisite knowledge, skills, values and aptitudes for self-actualisation and for the socio-economic and political transformation of the nation”( President’s Committee on Review of Educ. Reforms in Ghana, 2002, p.12). It is therefore my desire as an educator to help students meet their potential in these areas by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking and invites a sharing of ideas. To create this enabling environment for teaching and learning, I am obligated to (1) ensure an appropriate pace and effective use of my lecture time through course/session planning; (2) keep class discussion and activities focused on the learning objectives (i.e. course outcomes); (3) create and maintain a positive learning environment; and (4) promote rapport and student motivation in class.
2. Methods/procedures adopted to attain personal aims/objectives
(a) Ensuring an appropriate pace and effective use of lecture time: To do this, I always plan my lectures with a diversity of activities and opportunities for students to experience for themselves. This notwithstanding, I also take advantage of “teachable moments” that may not have been part of my plan for the lecture. In my course planning, I first identify the major and minor topic areas in the course, the instructional strategies and resources to use and the assessment techniques to determine if students have met the course outcomes. Before I attend every lecture, I make sure to peruse the lecture notes thoroughly, adding new ideas at the least opportunity.
(b) Keep the class discussion and activities focused on course outcomes: To do this, I ensure that I keep the discussion on the topic at hand. When students try to divert the class from the topic at hand, I try as much as possible to tell them that they have used up their allotted time and now it was someone else’s turn to speak.
(c) Create and maintain a positive learning environment: To do this, I (i) ensure respect for diverse student backgrounds – intellectually, culturally and social-economically; (ii) provide consistent and fair treatment of all students when applying policies (e.g. attendance and late assignments); (iii) maintain confidentiality and privacy in student records and issues: (iv) encourage both individual participation and cooperative learning; (v) motivate students by reinforcing their responses and performance; (vi) encourage freedom of expression and independence of choice by encouraging questions and discussions among my students; and (vii) model appropriate classroom behavior for my students.
(d) Promoting rapport and student motivation in class: To interact effectively in both formal instruction and informal interaction with students, I (i) praise students whenever possible; (ii) establish trust within the lecture hall; (iii) handle discipline issues privately; (iv) manage and attend to the needs of all of the students in the class: reinforce positive behavior; and (v) learn and use student names. In addition, I motivate students by (i) the orderly and systematic presentation of my lectures; (ii) using a variety of student-centred teaching methods; (iii) encouraging practice and feedback; (iv) creating conducive learning environment; (v) expressing confidence in the abilities of my students and (vi) demonstrating appropriate teacher personality through updated knowledge, skills, ideas, attitudes and perceptions.
3. The importance that I attach to teaching
My motivation for teaching is anchored on the following statement by William Arthur Ward: “The mediocre teacher tells; the good teacher explains; the superior teacher demonstrates and the great teacher inspires.” To me as an educator, the great and wonderful rewards of teaching are the inspiration that my students derive from my lectures by (i) giving them the tools with which to cultivate their own gardens of knowledge, (ii) teaching to meet their individual needs so that all of them can feel capable and successful, (iii) presenting learning materials that involve the interests of the students and make learning relevant to life, (iv) incorporating in my lectures, themes, projects, group and individual assignments, and hands-on learning to make students active learners, and finally (v) tying teaching and learning into events in the outside world to help students become caring and active citizens (and not spectators!) in the Ghanaian society.
On the whole, my philosophy of teaching is foisted on a vision of a world where individuals learn to respect, accept and embrace the differences among us, cultivate and share knowledge/ideas, as the core of what makes life so captivating.
