Teaching Philosophy Reflections

After reading Delci, Jim, and Margot’s teaching philosophies there were several aspects of my own teaching philosophy that I would revisit.

Delci stated the importance of being prepared and ready for class, the idea that students will be more willing to learn if the instructor is prepared and ready for class, instead of all over the place. Delci also mentioned admitting when you don’t know something. This relates to the idea that one never stops learning.

Jim also focused on making learning fun and exciting. The use of humor in the classroom tends to keep the attention of the students and break the monotony of the classroom structure. He also emphasized the utilization of hands-on experiences. Hands-on experiences help to facilitate learning and the application of “classroom” material to real world examples is the best way to foster future agricultural ambassadors.

Margo focused on the development of the student. She noted the importance of open-mindedness, desire, and awareness of the students. I thought is was interesting how she wanted every student to think of her class as more than a class that they needed to pass their major. She emphasized the idea of being able to use and conceptualize ideas taken from the classroom out into their everyday life. She was extremely concerned with the success of her students and their futures.

After reading my peers teaching philosophies there are several ideas that I would consider incorporating into my own philosophy. First, I would incorporate the idea of admitting when I do not know something right off hand. This is a perfectly normal situation in any class and can lead to someone feeling slightly embarrassed. Either way I feel that this can be a learning experience, not only for the student, but for the instructor as well. Secondly, the idea of incorporating humor into the classroom is another idea to think about. Making the class more humorous and exciting will increase the chances of the students paying more attention and being more engaged. Finally, I would also incorporate Margot’s ideas of awareness and desire of the students to learn. The futures of the students and their ability to use the knowledge learned in the classroom to outside situations is fundamental to fostering strong agricultural ambassadors.