“Continuing the Family Business”

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Since my father, mother, brother, and sister-in-law are all teachers, I’ve often jokingly referred to teaching as “the family business.”  Being raised in a household with such a strong focus on education imparted the belief that teaching is not just a job; rather, it is a calling.  A key component of that “calling” is grounded in making students realize their potential through critical thinking and skill application.  While at the University of Alabama, I served as an instructor of record for three sections of a Mass Communication course (MC 407: Mass Communication Research Methods) and one section of an Advertising/Public Relations course (APR 260: Design Applications).  Both my quantitative and qualitative course reviews were quite positive for each course I taught (see attached).  These courses allowed me to begin formulating my teaching philosophy, which I anticipate will grow and develop as I harness the craft of instruction.  My philosophy is grounded in four key components: clearly stated expectations, classroom engagement, application of learned skills, and proper evaluation. 

 

First, if you expect it, state it:  As an instructor, I seek to clearly state my expectations for each course I teach.  It begins with my syllabus, which I view as a contract between my students and myself. My syllabus clearly states learning objectives so that students understand what they can expect to learn from my course.  Detailed assignment sheets for any and all assigned projects are also included.  These assignment sheets describe all format and length requirements and provide great detail on each section the assignment should include. I also include grading rubrics, so students know in advance the criteria that is used to evaluate their work.  By clearly stating my expectations at the beginning of a course, I know my students feel comfortable and confident with the method in which their grade is derived.  I have a firm belief that grades are not given; rather, they are earned.  Therefore, if I want students to work hard and earn good grades, I feel that I should provide a clearly defined path to success. 

 

Second, if you build it, they will come: As an educator, I strive to maintain my curiosity and desire to learn. This curiosity and drive cultivated the passion I feel for education, and that type of passion for learning can be quite contagious in the classroom.  I approach each class session as an opportunity to tell a new story on whatever topic we will cover that day.  As an instructor, I craft my course to be engaging and experienced, not observed.  For an hour course, I prefer to begin with 10 minutes of discussion, 20 minutes of lecture, 20 minutes of a classroom activity or in-class assignment, and 10 minutes of discussion about the activity.  Classroom activities are designed to provide students with experiential learning, as they are able to apply the skills and concepts featured in the day’s lesson.  Rather than simply tell my students about proper survey design, I would review the key components of strong survey design, then break students into groups and have them utilize those components to design a survey of their own.  Finally, we would discuss and critique each groups’ survey together as a class.  By building a classroom environment built on active experiences and collaborative learning, I feel that students come to class engaged and ready to participate. 

 

Third, learn from the mother bird and do not be afraid to let students fly:  I believe teaching upper-level courses are somewhat unique.  Upper level students have the foundation and understanding of basic, core concepts and are hungry for the opportunity to apply those skills.  Providing this opportunity in a classroom setting allows them to take risks as they apply their knowledge.  Sometimes those risks pay off, and other times they provide a great learning opportunity.  For instance, when I taught research methods, I had an ambitious group of students who wished to study the impact of pre-roll advertisements on consumers’ purchase intent, attitude, and knowledge of a brand.  They paid such attention to the design of their experiment, and even created their own stimulus content through video editing software.  However, their meticulous design meant they did not have enough time to gather as many participants as they would have liked for the experiment.  This group took a risk by taking on a tremendous task.  While they did not finish as strongly as they could have had there been a few additional weeks in the course, they truly learned a lot.  This group of students learned A/B testing, harnessed video editing skills, learned advertising measurement techniques, and applied their skills in a digital environment.  By letting them take a risk on such a large task, I feel they truly displayed a well-rounded applied approach in showing the skills they learned during their time at the university. 

 

 One great component of the communication field is the variety of tools and applications that can be used in the classroom. My firm belief is that teachers are charged with preparing students for their careers.  In today’s society, technology and required skills are constantly changing, and I strive to ensure that I stay on top of the latest tools that are utilized for both traditional and digital storytelling.  In my courses, I have utilized popular social media websites, like Twitter, to provide a unique outlet where I can provide test hints and course reminders, and students can ask questions.  I also created a unique study guide in iBooks author that included a variety of activities and visualizations to help prepare students for a test in a fun, unique manner.

 

Finally, learning and evaluation is a marathon, not a sprint: As students work to earn their grades in my classroom, I want them to feel they were evaluated fairly.  Rather than simply lecture and test, I include smaller assignments and quizzes into my course schedule. These assignments allow me to identity early in a course when a student is struggling with a particular idea, concept, or tool.  In addition to in-class assignments, I always end lectures with a slide called “today’s testable tidbits,” which provides a list of skills, terms, or concepts that may be featured on an upcoming exam.  This slide allows students to identify what key terms and concepts they should have mastered during the day’s class and prepare for tests in advance.  When I taught a skills-based design applications course, I administered “mini” practice exams to simulate a type of skill they would need to perform on upcoming exams. These “mini” practice exams served three purposes.  First, they allowed students an additional “hands-on” learning opportunity in a low-pressure setting. Second, they allowed my students to self-evaluate their progress and mastery of each skill.  Third, I was able to determine certain skills that I may need to address in greater detail with the entire class in greater detail. By evaluating my students several times during a course in these types of low-pressure settings, I feel students are more prepared for larger exams. Lastly, when evaluating subjective student work, I provide all criteria in advance by describing evaluation on each assignment sheet and including grading rubrics. When evaluating subjective work, I always give descriptive reasoning for the grade a student’s work earned in a grading rubric and also return a marked-up version of their assignment. 

 

Overall, I hope these four key beliefs allow me to be a teacher whose passion for her subject is apparent to her colleagues and students. My mother, who taught for 40 years, instilled in me that if you are passionate about your subject, your students cannot help but be engaged.  I have been raised to believe that education should be our most precious possession.  Being an educator is not easy.  It requires a strong desire to transform even the most stubborn of students into the next generation’s power professionals by arming them with the required tools for success.  That is why teaching is a calling instead of a job. It is a calling centered at the heart of my family and my upbringing.  After all, it is the family business.