Teaching Statement

I teach with a student centered-learning approach so that all of my students’ learning styles are being met, thus allowing all of my students to learn to their strengths. It is my hope that I can teach students to learn so they understand. With so many learning styles it is hard to have a “one size fits all” policy when teaching. After working with individuals of all ages and abilities, I have learned that not everyone learns the same way that I do. Unfortunately, as hard as teaching is, it is easy to teach in the way that you learn best in. This is not favorable to all students. I don’t want them to simply memorize curriculum to regurgitate it later for a test. The best way to learn, in my opinion, is to teach others at a later time, whether it be minutes or years later, thoroughly and confidently.

As an educator, my hope is that the information that I am teaching is being comprehended and is useful to students later in life. In order to create an inclusive environment, I make sure to use “people first” dialogue, hands-on activities, lectures, and readings to teach my students. Above all, I make sure to have fun while teaching. It is important to be silly with the students I work with in order to build rapport and trust, but I must make sure that I can balance the silliness with a strong sense of authority.

I have found that people learn the best when they do not realize that they are learning! I was at the Hatfield Marine Science Center a couple of weeks ago and came upon an eight year-old girl who was afraid to touch a purple sea urchin. No amount of prompting from her parents or the volunteer could convince her to touch this scary purple creature. I bent down to her level and said, “See those pokey purple things? Those are the spines of the sea urchin. If you put your finger carefully in between some of them, you can get a sea urchin hug! They act as a “shield” from other animals that try to eat them, but they won’t hurt you if you if you don’t hurt them.” Seeing the smile start to spread across her face as she was being “hugged” and hearing her squeal of joy is what I look forward to as an educator. Listening to her describe the sensation of being hugged to her younger brother and telling him about the sea urchin’s defense mechanism was very moving. Here I had taught this young girl about a new animal and she listened to and learned from me without realizing it. This young girl may not remember me down the road, but she may remember how the spines rapidly closed in on her finger and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Experiences like this is why I teach, to help create a sense of wonder and awe in people of all ages and abilities. I enjoy helping people learn something new and fall in love with it.