Teaching Responsibilities
Although I do my best to excel at all levels of the academy, I feel my greatest strength is my ability to teach. My primary teaching obligations at OCU center around a broad range of biologically related fields—Fundamentals of Biology (BIOL 1214), General Botany (BIOL 2214), and Methods of Scientific Inquiry (SCI 1003); courses I teach on an annual basis. I teach on occasion other courses as needed within the department. Examples include Environmental Science (BIOL 1314), Liberal Arts Seminar (LAS 1063), Integrated Science Laboratory (SCI 1041), Analysis of Scientific Literature (BIOL 4052) and Medical Vocabulary (BIOL 2852). In all, I have taught over 15 separate courses since arriving at OCU in the fall of 2009.
Teaching Development
I strongly believe that teaching is enhanced through fellowship with colleagues and the sharing of teaching strategies, materials, and concerns related to the classroom. To this end I have taken every opportunity to improve my teaching through the programs offered by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). Through participation in and leading numerous workshops and faculty learning communities (FLC) offered through CETL, I have had the opportunity to develop successful strategies I have employed in my classes and helped my fellow colleagues development as well. These experiences have been very rewarding for me in that they have given me the opportunity to share with my colleagues my passion and “philosophy” for teaching, as well as some of the strategies I employ in my classes to communicate what many students feel is difficulty material. Probably more rewarding however, is the knowledge I gain from others on how different disciplines attempt to introduce effective teaching and the toils we all seem to share when dealing with many areas of the Academy. My efforts have not gone unnoticed by my peers; awarding me the 2019 Distinguished Achievement in the Innovation of Teaching and Learning at Oklahoma City University.
Teaching Philosophy
Some of the most meaningful praises I have received as a teacher are from students who tell me that they rarely pass by a plant and do not immediately start asking themselves questions about it; they can’t scan the roadsides or sidewalks without looking at the plants to see what species they can identify. Comments such as these make teaching worthwhile. I try to inspire enthusiasm for learning in my students by sharing my own enthusiasm for the material being presented. The passion of a teacher for his or her subject is what motivates a student to learn. I want my passion to be infectious and my enthusiasm to heighten the learning process.
To most of those who teach, teaching is much more than just an occupation. It is simply a way of life that we have adopted, for one reason or another, because of our desire to educate. However, one must have the talent to convey the information to the student in an effective manner. The ability to teach successfully appears to me to be a gift. Like other gifts, it can be exercised, it can be improved, or it can be allowed to atrophy. Teaching, like learning, is not a passive process, but rather an active one. Hard work is what distinguishes effective teachers from ineffective teachers.
When I interact with students, whether it is in class, in my office, or in the hallway, I must be ready to take advantage of a “teaching moment”. My best teaching must occur whenever a student is receptive. Teaching moments sometimes arise in unexpected ways. It is tempting, at times, to let them pass but I always try to remember the admonishment of my undergraduate advisor who told me “The opportunity to teach is a privilege of the highest order. With this privilege comes an enormous responsibility. That responsibility is to never waste an occasion in which learning can occur. Once lost it can never be reclaimed.”
I strive to generate a desire to understand the subject and to be comfortable with the technical details that I present. Regardless of his or her ability, each student needs assistance and encouragement to learn, to observe, to question, to analyze, to interpret, and to communicate. My use of three different teaching modes (lecture, discussion, and personal conversation) allows students with different personalities, academic backgrounds, and learning styles to be able to master the material I offer. I consider the lecture period to be the time to help the students learn the technical information associated with the subject. I present my lecture with the confidence that I know more about the subject than anyone else in the room. Although this sounds arrogant, it is not! To be an effective teacher, I must be well organized and fully prepared for each encounter with my students.
I firmly believe that repetition of presented material is the best way to ensure that my students incorporate this information into their long-term memory. This can be done in a number of ways. I have found that a small amount of class time regularly devoted to discussion of the material previously presented helps to accomplish incorporation. This discussion time can be at the start or end of a lecture period or prior to a test in the form of a review session.
I am a firm believer in the liberal arts tradition of education and enjoy getting my students to see how scientific phenomena and methodology can be related to other disciplines—i.e., how humanistic and social attributes have their origins in natural processes and conversely how science has evolved or progressed because of humanistic and social events and attributes. Additionally I use techniques to get students to realize “the big picture” when it comes to science. Too often many students have been trained to just learn what they need and nothing else. In many of my classes I start the first day by having the students look at the “big picture”; “this is what you will be introduced to this semester”. I then tell them to think about this “big picture” as a jigsaw puzzle, having many pieces that must all fit together in a particular way in order for the puzzle to be completed. Of course like all good puzzles you don’t start in the middle but start by providing a “frame” of interconnecting “like” pieces. Once this fundamental material is mastered and “fits” together, then the interconnecting pieces within the puzzle can be explored. I encourage my students to master all the information they can; a missing piece means an incomplete picture.
I believe that one of the greatest responsibilities of a teacher in higher education is that of an advisor. Advising provides an important avenue for teaching opportunities. The relationship between a student and advisor is important. Although students should be able to guide themselves through an academic curriculum, at times an advisor must provide considerable guidance. More significantly, an advisor must convey the importance of the various elements of the curriculum. I will not be an advisor who simply signs off on a student’s schedule of courses. By the time they graduate, students should be able to see that an academic curriculum is more than just the sum of various courses. The advisor should play a significant role in that realization.
I further believe that the role of the advisor is not only to guide students through the academic process, but also to suggest ways to enhance the likelihood of success after academics. I am a firm believer that participation in extracurricular activities is a vital part of the higher education experience, regardless of a student’s eventual career choice. Participation in student organizations such as Beta Beta Beta—of which I am the faculty advisor—allows for qualities such as leadership, self-discipline, the ability to work with others, fellowship, and commitment to be developed and remain with students their entire lives. An advisor must also recognize and nurture students who may benefit by graduate study. An advisor should encourage research by such students. One of the best experiences I had as an undergraduate was to conduct a research project under the direction of a faculty member in the biology department. It not only gave me the opportunity to learn in a setting outside the classroom, but also started me on the career path I explore today.
I often think of the teachers who had the most influence on my life. Although their personalities differed markedly, all shared a few common characteristics. They all were thoroughly committed to advancing the well-being of others—in and out of the classroom. They all cared about the process of teaching. They all were effective communicators who understood that it is better to communicate a smaller amount of information well than to communicate a larger amount of information poorly. These are characteristics that I endeavor to emulate as I a teacher.
To most of those who teach, teaching is much more than just an occupation. It is simply a way of life that we have adopted, for one reason or another, because of our desire to educate. However, one must have the talent to convey the information to the student in an effective manner. The ability to teach successfully appears to me to be a gift. Like other gifts, it can be exercised, it can be improved, or it can be allowed to atrophy. Teaching, like learning, is not a passive process, but rather an active one. Hard work is what distinguishes effective teachers from ineffective teachers.
When I interact with students, whether it is in class, in my office, or in the hallway, I must be ready to take advantage of a “teaching moment”. My best teaching must occur whenever a student is receptive. Teaching moments sometimes arise in unexpected ways. It is tempting, at times, to let them pass but I always try to remember the admonishment of my undergraduate advisor who told me “The opportunity to teach is a privilege of the highest order. With this privilege comes an enormous responsibility. That responsibility is to never waste an occasion in which learning can occur. Once lost it can never be reclaimed.”
I strive to generate a desire to understand the subject and to be comfortable with the technical details that I present. Regardless of his or her ability, each student needs assistance and encouragement to learn, to observe, to question, to analyze, to interpret, and to communicate. My use of three different teaching modes (lecture, discussion, and personal conversation) allows students with different personalities, academic backgrounds, and learning styles to be able to master the material I offer. I consider the lecture period to be the time to help the students learn the technical information associated with the subject. I present my lecture with the confidence that I know more about the subject than anyone else in the room. Although this sounds arrogant, it is not! To be an effective teacher, I must be well organized and fully prepared for each encounter with my students.
I firmly believe that repetition of presented material is the best way to ensure that my students incorporate this information into their long-term memory. This can be done in a number of ways. I have found that a small amount of class time regularly devoted to discussion of the material previously presented helps to accomplish incorporation. This discussion time can be at the start or end of a lecture period or prior to a test in the form of a review session.
I am a firm believer in the liberal arts tradition of education and enjoy getting my students to see how scientific phenomena and methodology can be related to other disciplines—i.e., how humanistic and social attributes have their origins in natural processes and conversely how science has evolved or progressed because of humanistic and social events and attributes. Additionally I use techniques to get students to realize “the big picture” when it comes to science. Too often many students have been trained to just learn what they need and nothing else. In many of my classes I start the first day by having the students look at the “big picture”; “this is what you will be introduced to this semester”. I then tell them to think about this “big picture” as a jigsaw puzzle, having many pieces that must all fit together in a particular way in order for the puzzle to be completed. Of course like all good puzzles you don’t start in the middle but start by providing a “frame” of interconnecting “like” pieces. Once this fundamental material is mastered and “fits” together, then the interconnecting pieces within the puzzle can be explored. I encourage my students to master all the information they can; a missing piece means an incomplete picture.
I believe that one of the greatest responsibilities of a teacher in higher education is that of an advisor. Advising provides an important avenue for teaching opportunities. The relationship between a student and advisor is important. Although students should be able to guide themselves through an academic curriculum, at times an advisor must provide considerable guidance. More significantly, an advisor must convey the importance of the various elements of the curriculum. I will not be an advisor who simply signs off on a student’s schedule of courses. By the time they graduate, students should be able to see that an academic curriculum is more than just the sum of various courses. The advisor should play a significant role in that realization.
I further believe that the role of the advisor is not only to guide students through the academic process, but also to suggest ways to enhance the likelihood of success after academics. I am a firm believer that participation in extracurricular activities is a vital part of the higher education experience, regardless of a student’s eventual career choice. Participation in student organizations such as Beta Beta Beta—of which I am the faculty advisor—allows for qualities such as leadership, self-discipline, the ability to work with others, fellowship, and commitment to be developed and remain with students their entire lives. An advisor must also recognize and nurture students who may benefit by graduate study. An advisor should encourage research by such students. One of the best experiences I had as an undergraduate was to conduct a research project under the direction of a faculty member in the biology department. It not only gave me the opportunity to learn in a setting outside the classroom, but also started me on the career path I explore today.
I often think of the teachers who had the most influence on my life. Although their personalities differed markedly, all shared a few common characteristics. They all were thoroughly committed to advancing the well-being of others—in and out of the classroom. They all cared about the process of teaching. They all were effective communicators who understood that it is better to communicate a smaller amount of information well than to communicate a larger amount of information poorly. These are characteristics that I endeavor to emulate as I a teacher.
