Christian Leuprecht » Teaching Philosophy
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching beliefs
The essence of my teaching philosophy is to foster reflection, dialectical reasoning, critical thinking, argument, and articulation. My approach to teaching values process as much as content. I regard students not as "clients" but as "works in progress," where progress is measured relative to my ability to teach students to construct knowledge and assess its content and the underlying process of construction critically. In recognition of the well-established fact that there are different forms of learning, that different people excel using different forms of learning, and that some forms of learning tend to be less effective than others, I use variegated methods. In an age when technology has made information ubiquitous, the challenge is no longer to relay information. The challenge is for students to comprehend a body of knowledge and to assist students in constructing this body of knowledge in the process of a course. Students should be able to harness all levels of Benjamin Blooms taxonomy of education objectives, starting with evaluation at the nadir end and progressing via synthesis, analysis, application, comprehension to the apex of knowledge.
I am a firm believer that the way we teach is no less important than what is taught. As a result, I invest heavily in planning my courses carefully. I establish objectives in terms of content. I then structure the content in the manner as to best achieve these objectives. Based on the objectives and structure I pick suitable readings. In the process, I try to strike a balance between recent publications - in order to show that a debate or topic have contemporary relevance - and older ones - in order to have students realize that some work has perennial value. I then contemplate how best to deliver the content required to attain the necessary objectives.
I believe that good pedagogy requires the instructor to strike a careful balance between the quality and quantity of preparatory reading assigned, lectures, visual and auditory aids, such as audio and video clips as well as PowerPoint slides, and engaged learning such as small-group work, case studies, and tutorials. Factors I take into account when weighing these items includes the material and content to be covered, the size of the class, the methodological and disciplinary background of the students. I have found debates - be they disciplinary or methodological, past or present - a good way of transcending mere content.
I also believe that for students to learn effectively, they require constant feedback. Areas in need of improvement are thus identified early and regularly. I believe it is important for students to gauge regularly how they are doing, where they stand in the course relative to the class as a whole, and to keep up with the material. As a result, I combine final exams with a combination of smaller tests throughout the course. My emphasis is always on testing understanding rather than memorization. I always require students to respond to answers in essay format. Instead of research papers, I tend to assign a number of short papers where students are asked to use pre-defined readings to respond to a set question whose parameters still leave sufficient room for originality and creativity. Since I believe argument, and the way an argument is articulated, to be pivotal to student learning, I emphasize style, grammar and orthography.
Since I teach politics, I believe that values and value pluralism matter. I teach about freedom, equality, and justice. But I also try to practice these in my approach to the material, my interaction with students, my grading, and my modes of evaluation. Finally, I believe that comments and feedback are as important as a fair mark.
In sum, it is just as important to me to be remembered by students as an outstanding teacher as it is to be remembered as an expert in the material being taught. My goal is to exceed expectations on all counts.
Teaching goals and strategies
Given my constructivist approach to learning and knowledge, I encourage interaction and structure my courses accordingly. In larger classes, that means a combination of lectures and small-group work. I harness information technology, using PowerPoint and WebCT.
My PowerPoint slides are downloadable by students prior to the lecture. I have found this helps them focus on what I have to say without being distracted by copying my lectures verbatim. It also economises my time by not having to write out extensive items on the blackboard and avoids having students mis-decipher my handwriting.
I encourage ongoing discussion about the material of the course using WebCT. Students are encouraged to carry on discussions and debates we have in class, and to ask formal or substantive questions about the course. In order to encourage feedback on the material and my pedagogy and teaching, I make it possible for them to post feedback anonymously, should they wish not to identify themselves. The electronic discussion forums have made it possible for me to give boisterous students a continual outlet while giving docile students or students who need a bit more time to reflect a chance to weigh in on the discussion at a time of their choosing. This helps me to gauge what students have understood and what I should be clarifying and emphasising during the upcoming class. It also gives students the chance to convey points they found particularly engaging in the readings and issues on which they would like me to elaborate. The feedback mechanisms where students have the option of posting anonymously has proven a very effective tool for me to respond to concerns as the course progresses rather than having to wait for course evaluations to see what students would have liked me to have done differently. One unintended consequence has been the positive reinforcement offered by many of the comments, i.e. ongoing confirmation that what I am doing and the way I am going about it resonates well with students.
I have also encouraged the electronic submission of assignments via WebCT. This allows me to provide more rapid feedback and decrease the turn-around time (because students have access to comments as soon as they are entered rather than having to wait a few extra days until assignments are returned in class). Marks for all my courses are kept electronically on WebCT. Students thus know exactly how they are doing at any given time during the course and, by virtue of having access to statistics for the whole class, know how they did on an assignment relative to the rest of the class and where they are standing relative to the rest of the class as a whole.
I have found small groups a very effective way of learning. I have found groups of about 5 students an ideal venue that gets all students talking and engaged, especially docile ones who would otherwise not speak up in class. I provide specific questions to be discussed, usually directly related to the readings. Once constituted, the composition of groups remains static which allows each group's members to develop a chemistry. A different group leader is appointed by the group each week. S/he is given a sheet with certain objectives, such as ensuring that everyone in the group speaks, and synthesising what was said. I follow up the small-group work with a large-groups discussion that synthesises the points that came up in various groups. I have found this system a great way of having students reflect on the readings and to learn to articulate their points of view and criticisms.
My evaluations are designed to offer regular and ample feedback right from the outset of the course. This system, coupled with small-group work, also motivates students to keep up. It also gives students a chance to redeem themselves if they happen to slip on an isolated item.
The attached syllabi (Appendix I) for POL4545, POL310, POLS111U, and POLS112U illustrate different means by which I operationalise my pedagogy. Along with the syllabus, I have also appended a document I distribute to all students on the first day of class detailing the Criteria Governing Evaluation. My feedback on assignments seeks to justify the mark given and to identify areas in need of improvement relative to these criteria. On my course web sites students find study guides and review questions I have written for each week of a course. I have found they provide direction for students as they approach the material and reduce uncertainty going into the exam. The appended evaluation for POL4545 and select comments demonstrate that my variegated approach to teaching and evaluation resonates with students who find it an effective way to learn (cf. Appendix II).
Reflections on teaching
I intend to become more involved in the systematic investigation of pedagogy and IT in university-level teaching in the social sciences. Specifically, I hope to explore different methods and means of teaching and pedagogy as relevant to introductory and advanced undergraduate as well as postgraduate teaching in political science. It is implicitly assumed that different means and methods should be applied depending on a course's level but there is a dearth in systematic investigation and assessment of means and methods specific to political science.
