Students and colleagues describe me as an enthusiastic, approachable, dedicated, creative, encouraging, and supportive instructor. My love of teaching grows out of my intellectual curiosity and my desire to foster a similar curiosity in others. My philosophy and style is greatly influenced by my mentors. These instructors went well beyond developing lesson plans; they also established positive learning environments, valued intellectual and cultural diversity, formed deep relationships with students, set high academic standards for their students, and set high instructional standards for themselves. In short, my teaching philosophy is rooted in the concepts contained in Pierce College's core abilities: fostering critical thinking skills through learning how to communicate effectively with a diverse group of classmates.

The foundation of my instructional style is to create a positive learning environment in which I promote an appreciation for intellectual and cultural diversity. I want students to share their ideas openly and I provide support as they learn how to effectively communicate their ideas with others. Seeing my enthusiasm for learning about each person's view, they see how valuable it can be to learn about a variety of perspectives and about effectively communicating your own ideas with people who have different communication styles.

While instructors retain authority in the classroom, relationships between teachers and students should display elements of teamwork: individuals working together to accomplish a task with all parties learning and benefiting from their interaction. In my role as instructor, I make sure students see me not only as a research expert and facilitator, but also as a cheerleader and fellow inquiring mind.

More group members participate when facilitators remain neutral and encourage others to clearly explain their views, so I try to take a neutral stance when I play the role of facilitator in group discussions. Involving more people in discussions introduces students to points-of-view that they might not have previously understood. An added benefit is that students strengthen their critical thinking skills and polish their communication skills because other team members (including myself) will expect them to explain their positions using logic and reason. On occasions when I reveal my perspectives, I make it clear that I do so in order to clearly communicate one point-of-view, not because I expect to sway their opinions.

One of the ways in which intellectual diversity manifests itself is learning style differences. While teaching, I am attentive to this and adapt my instructional approaches to accommodate the needs of as many group members as possible. I convey information in a variety of modes: lectures, demonstrations, handouts, worksheets, research journals, hands-on exercises, individual activities, small group work, and large group discussions.

I always provide students with class outlines so that they can see the route I have planned, but students quickly learn that I prefer to facilitate group discussions so that learning evolves while individuals participating in the process. By asking leading, open-ended questions, students remind themselves of their existing knowledge and skills before we begin to build on what they know. This leads them into exploring answers that show logical, critical thinking. By participating in the instruction, students teach and learn from each other as much as from me. By seeing my excitement about hearing them explain concepts in their own words, I have the opportunity to model how exciting learning can be no matter where we are in our lives. I greatly value the confidence people gain from this approach.

As a firm believer in active learning, I maintain a lively, interactive classroom. This is especially important with research instruction because most students walk through the door dragging their heels, rolling their eyes, and expecting to take a nap. Teaching people about research methods is a lot like teaching people how to play piano: it is nearly impossible to rely solely on lectures and demonstrations. Instead, any information that I present is immediately applied through practical exercises.

By the same token, I use a variety of assessment methods so that all students have a chance to contribute, regardless of their perceived intellectual strengths and weaknesses. Several aspects typical of research instruction present unique challenges to assessing student learning: no two instruction sessions are alike; most in-class instruction is imited to one 50-minute session; and most of the aha moments happen during one-on-one, point-of-need instruction when people discuss their specific needs with me. For the latter, assessment is always different because the content and interpersonal dynamics are always unique. Among the methods I've used to assess the less nebulous classroom learning are: reviewing student-produced research journals, portfolios, and annotated bibliographies; comparing results of pre- and post-instruction questionnaires; providing worksheets; giving quizzes asking students to describe how they might solve a research problem; and observing information seeking behavior. In credit courses, I have also used self- and peer-evaluations.

I put as much energy into assessing my effectiveness as an instructor as I do on assessing student learning. One of the benefits of working in academia – particularly working with the award winning outcomes assessment model used at Pierce College Library – is that I am continuously challenged to improve my teaching methods because I am continuously exposed to new ideas for assessing my instructional style and students’ reactions to both course content and my delivery. I regularly rewrite lectures, add new content, create new exercises, and revise lesson plans. Self-reflection certainly has its limits, so I also solicit feedback from departmental faculty who collaborate with me. These colleagues are fantastic sources of ideas for new teaching techniques and assessment tools. In addition, I seek advice and guidance from other teaching colleagues; read and participate in discussion lists about research instruction, librarianship, and discipline(s) I'm teaching; and perhaps most importantly, seek feedback and carefully review evaluations from students.

Besides presenting topics taught in our classrooms and labs, academia provides faculty with opportunities to motivate, encourage, and lead by example in ways that impact students' lives beyond the classroom. Most college students are at turning points in their lives and many of them will take their experiences in classrooms and apply what they have learned in other aspects of their lives. The rewards of teaching are plentiful and the accompanying sense of accomplishment motivates me to continue improving upon my teaching.

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