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Kathleen
McKinney
Teaching-Learning
Philosophy Statement
(Updated in 2005; my philosophy continues to evolve.)
My teaching
philosophy consists of a variety of beliefs about teaching, learning,
teachers, students, and my discipline. These beliefs come from my own
practical experience and reflection as a teacher and learner, from
studying theory and research on teaching and learning in both my
discipline and higher education in general, from conducting my own
scholarship on teaching and learning, and from my faculty development work
with other teachers. Some of those whose theory and research have
influenced my beliefs include, for example, Marcia Baxter Magolda on
socially constructed knowledge and student development; Parker Palmer and
Stephen Brookfield on reflection in teaching; Bob Leamnson on learning and
the brain; K. Patricia Cross, Lee Shulman, and Paul Baker on classroom assessment and the scholarship of
teaching and learning; and Alexander Astin and George Kuh on student
involvement and out-of-class learning. I share six of my key beliefs
below. In addition, I offer a brief discussion of how these beliefs impact
my teaching.
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I
believe students are ultimately responsible for their learning; yet,
learning is the result of a complex interaction among many factors
associated with the student, the teacher, peers and others, the
content, and the
situation or context. The process of learning (and teaching) is
socially constructed as “teachers” and “learners” develop,
communicate, and negotiate objectives, knowledge and skills
cooperatively together.
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Putting
learning at the center of all that you and your students (and their
peers, your colleagues, your department, and your institution) do is
key to the best teaching and learning. That is, we must always start
with an understanding of our learning objectives and when we make a
decision or a choice about a teaching-learning issue or requirement,
we should ask ourselves “how will this impact student learning and
development?” This should be the primary guiding question for making
choices and decisions in all units and at all levels of the
institution.
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Meaningful
teaching and learning requires both faculty and students to be
reflective. Teachers must be knowledgeable, not only about the content
of their discipline, but also about the work on teaching and learning
in their discipline and in general. Anyone who signs a contract to
teach becomes ethically obligated to learn all they can (and practice
what they learn) about teaching and learning; that is, to be a
scholarly teacher. In addition, the scholarship of teaching and
learning (SoTL), ranging from classroom assessment to classroom
research to more formal and larger scale SoTL studies, is critical to
the teaching and learning process. Good teaching involves taking
risks. Finally, we must help our students to reflect on their
learning.
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Just as
good teachers are far more than “good” in their classrooms,
powerful learning is affected by and takes place outside, as well as
inside, the classroom. I strongly believe in the importance of
out-of-class learning experiences and a “seamless” learning
environment involving the integration of curricular, co-curricular,
and extra-curricular components to enhance student learning and
development.
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I
believe that process and outcomes of teaching and learning are greatly
enhanced when both teachers and learners are passionately engaged in
the material and the behaviors in and outside the classroom. We can
and must do many things to enhance students’ engagement, intrinsic
motivation, internal attributions, and self-efficacy for our courses
and disciplines.
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Much of
what we know about teaching and learning generalizes across
disciplines and contexts or situations, but one must also consider
disciplinary epistemologies, content, and norms when teaching,
reflecting on teaching, and conducting SoTL. In my discipline of
sociology, for example, I consider that content to include, at a
minimum, theories and concepts, facts and data, and complex skills
(e.g., conducting social research). For me, the key idea in sociology
would be for a student to develop his/her “sociological
imagination” (C.W. Mills), the ability to see human behavior as
situated in cultural and historical contexts.
These
beliefs, then, impact my teaching-learning practice. For example, I have
published a teaching note titled “FACES: Five Components of Quality
Teaching.” Though my teaching philosophy has continued to evolve since
that time, I find that my philosophy still implies the importance of these
five components: fairness, application/relevance, challenge,
entertainment/enthusiasm/engagement, and service. In addition, my practice
fits closely the Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education as
summarized by Chickering and Gamson (active learning, cooperation among
students, contact with faculty, prompt and useful feedback, time on task,
high expectations, and respect for diversity).
It is also critical to listen to the voices of students about how
they believe they learn our discipline. I have attempted to do this via
classroom formative assessment techniques and my Carnegie project where
sociology majors have reported the importance of five types of
connections that plug them in to learning (to the discipline, between
individuals--faculty and peers, among related ideas and skills, to
student lives and the "real world," and across courses).
To further
live my teaching philosophy, I specify behavioral objectives for my
students in each course. My courses are learning-centered. I use diverse
pedagogical practices. I offer a great deal of scaffolding (without
“lowering the bar”) for students who are willing to climb it. I
emphasize active and collaborative practices. I give students some control
and choice in the course. I offer and require out-of-class learning
opportunities. I have high expectations and make these (and how to achieve
them) explicit. I do all that I can to help students experience
passion for the subject and the course, to become engaged and
intrinsically motivated. My students and I both reflect on the teaching
and learning experience. I use classroom assessment techniques, making
changes in response to student feedback and my own reflection as one can
always make improvements in teaching and learning practices and outcomes.
Conducting work in the area of the scholarship of teaching and learning is
a priority for me. The desire and the skills to engage in life long
learning is a goal I have, not only for my students, but also for myself. |
