of Teaching
ESL student (Brazil):
“Olivia was the best teacher I have had here at <school>: despite her being American, her pronunciation was very accessible, and the classes were interesting, which is difficult to manage in a vacation course, when classes could become monotonous [4 hrs/day, 4 days/wk]. Despite having received the lowest grade of my life (55%) in this class, I can say that it is the class in which I learned the most English.”
My primary goal as a teacher is to stretch my students: to challenge them with high standards, tempt them with fascinating material, and support them as they reach out. I have taught in multiple subject areas (from ESL through Psychology), to diverse student bodies (from middle-schoolers to adults, even other teachers). In all cases, I exercise unfailing honesty with my students: I don’t placate them with high grades, but am willing to work with them toward improvement. Both my students and supervisors have reacted positively to my high bar: amazingly, some students even expressed gratitude despite low grades, and some who failed sought to repeat courses with me (instead of other teachers). I’ve thus had the great pleasure of watching students grow farther in a semester than they ever believed possible, and of sharing with them this joy of success.
I hope students react positively to my high expectations because they trust me: trust that I am committed to educating them, and dedicated to helping them reach their goals. I have chosen each subject I teach because I believe it is important and fascinating, and I work hard to communicate this to students. They respond with engagement, and often cite my enthusiasm and dedication in evaluations. I have seen students from introductory psychology courses go on to research, and I find it particularly rewarding to see them “hooked” on the field. I carefully design activities for my students to move beyond the classroom, reminding them of the real-world demands they are training to meet. Importantly, I do not merely demand effort of students: I walk with them myself. I talk with students after class, provide detailed feedback on their work, and offer extra assistance to all those who want it.
This level of commitment to teaching requires considerable effort, flexibility, and creativity on my part. As anyone who has taught knows, simply explaining information or techniques in the way that first made sense to us is rarely helpful for all students. Rather, we must step back and examine the material from other perspectives, seeking different structure and angles from which to approach it. For me, this has sometimes required reinventing grammar for ESL students who never learned it in their native language. Other times, it has meant reinterpreting cutting-edge research in cognitive psychology, to create an accessible course for gifted middle-schoolers. In all cases, I find that one of the greatest joys of teaching comes when these efforts to reinterpret familiar material allow us to watch students reach their “Aha!” moment, while we ourselves come to appreciate entirely new facets of our subject.
I have consistently invested in improving my teaching: through development and application of student feedback mechanisms, participation in professional development programs, and research into teaching. It is my goal to evolve continually as a teacher. I set a high standard for students, and a high standard for myself. We stride towards this together: with patience and good humor, passion and flexibility. It’s been a wonderful journey thus far.
Next page: Responsibilities Held
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