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My philosophy about teaching and learning is that through the implementation of well-designed instructional strategies, and intrinsically motivated students open to learning, every student has an equal opportunity to learn. Most students learn best in a positive and inclusive learning environment. Teaching practices should begin with assessing students’ prior knowledge of the specific course subject. Teachers can evaluate prior knowledge by administering a pre-assessment to evaluate learning needs, and students understanding of the subject matter in an effort to implement inclusivity, accommodations, and best practices in teaching strategies. The pre-assessment can include questions relevant to the subject matter, which will provide the teacher with evidence-based student data that can be used to help make informed decisions about the best way to design instructional strategies.

 

My approach to teaching fosters a student-centered approach through the incorporation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). If, as educators, we truly want students to learn, when designing instruction, we must be flexible and creative. We also have to make sure that our course learning objectives, instructional strategies, and assessments are in alignment. Learning is the outcome of effective teaching. In a UDL environment, all students have the opportunity to learn. For example, the “right” learning environment should include clear, well written, and easy to understand instructions, project and inquiry-based learning activities, provide an opportunity for teachers to give students constructive feedback, research based writing assignments, opportunities to engage in critical thinking through problem solving activities, incorporate collaborative work (like think-pair-share), a mid-term assessment to evaluate students understanding of course concepts taught prior to the end of the course; which will help to identify the course concepts that need to be revisited for further clarification.

 

The learning environment should also present opportunities for students to ask clarifying questions, foster inclusivity, be accommodating (ADA considerations, as needed), present an opportunity to engage in reflective thinking (for both the teacher and the students), as well as include a post-assessment that affords the opportunity for students to demonstrate learning through application (applying knowledge in a real-world setting). The post-assessment will also help the teacher evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching strategies implemented and determine if modifications need to be made. In the role of teacher, we are considered subject matter experts. The strength of a subject matter expert is knowing that effective teaching requires more than just mastering the subject matter.

 

Effective teaching also requires the ability to teach what you know to someone else who does not know, in a manner that is easy for them to understand and apply, which is an invaluable skillset critical to teaching and learning. I believe that as educators, we must keep the mission of education at the forefront when designing instructional strategies; that mission is to educate. To effectively educate students, the practice of teaching and learning never stops. Therefore, as educators we should never stop learning about current best practices for teaching and how we can help the students in our classroom 

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By Lynnette Clement