My Teaching Philosophy

Teaching Philosophy

I believe that the most effective way for an instructor, facilitator, communicator, or educator to be successful in a classroom or an online teaching format, one must create a safe and active environment that is interactive or collaborative in the sense that promotes problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Why is a welcoming environment important in education? It is important because it will accommodate a variety of adult learning styles and encourages students to present their opinions while respecting the opinions of others.

I believe that by giving students a voice in class, not only do the students benefit from peer-peer learning by enriching the course material with personal experiences and knowledge, but also they take responsibility for their learning and, therefore, enhance the integration of their new knowledge into practice. Teaching is a process that promotes and instills active learning. Promoting independent thinking is essential so that students can take what they have learned and apply it in real-life situations. Therefore, I endeavor to make my classroom an arena for students to learn skills and demonstrate outcomes.

As an educator, I live by the principles and concepts that to learn and grow, one must develop the necessary skills for life-long learning. I strive to model my philosophies in the classroom as well as in the online format. The hope is to have a spontaneous directive toward specific goals. The primary objectives for the students are to acclimate them to the fundamentals of the subject material, real-world examples, and a collaborative forum for discussing options to deal with critical learning issues.

The ways to encourage student critical learning are:

Encouraging student-faculty contact
Encouraging cooperation among students
Encouraging active learning
Giving prompt feedback
Emphasizing time on task
Communicating high expectations
Respecting, and diversifying talents
Finding ways to open doors to learning

I measure their progress by providing multiple assessments that include:

Collaborative research projects
Formal scholarly research papers
Portfolios
Presentations (Speaking, Multimedia)
Quizzes
Review activities
Student written newsletters

Methodology

As a facilitator, I try to shift the burden of learning from the educator to the student. Let us face it distance learning and online formats have revolutionized the educational industry. Therefore, my primary emphasis in teaching is on learning and my goals are to facilitate learning (helping students learn). Essence learning is primarily the student's responsibility, whereas teaching is my responsibility.

Summary

As an instructor, the continuous goal is that the student will experience a ‘hands-on’ practical application of the learning process and that I will gain more insight into students' individual needs as well as gain collaboration skills, practical experience, and professional ethics that can be incorporated into my line of work; which is accounting and healthcare reimbursement when dealing with colleagues.

Thank you in advance!

Cordially,

Janice Whittaker

IBS Professional Studies
Goodlettsville, TN 37072

Teaching Philosophy

​