Teaching Philosophy
When I began my undergraduate studies, I was eager to learn. I was raised on an island in the Caribbean, and as an islander, I had to resist the urge to see the world as the 3,515 square miles I was confined to. I left Puerto Rico for college with a healthy interest in everything. I pursued a liberal arts education, and with each course, topic, or interest that this education allowed me to follow, I was encouraged to explore my ideas.
I approached teaching as I approached my studies, eager to participate in the learning process. My philosophy focuses on a series of core values reflective of my educational experience.
Student’s Ideas Matter
Students must learn what they have to offer the world. The central question in most if not all of my classes is, “What ideas can a student contribute?” My goal in assessment is to validate the value of the student’s ideas and guide them toward a better expression of those ideas. I aim to build confidence in students by giving their ideas time, thought, and feedback. I make an effort to include private or group conversations with my students about their work in most of my classes and establish that my role as an educator is to support their thinking.
Hard Work Pays Off
As a professor in media practice, I understand that my students have chosen a challenging career path. Developing work habits is crucial to the student’s potential success in the media industry. A teacher of mine used to say that students “must do something for their art every day.” I reflect this in my classes by demanding from the student consistently. I challenge students to develop, deliver, and explore their work on a strict schedule. Though work habits are built over a lifetime, developing healthy patterns early prepares the student for their very practical pursuits in a critical way.
The Subject Must be Relevant to the Student
The best learning experiences occur when the student wants to learn. The pursuit of knowledge is often tethered to a student’s desire to increase self-worth. I view it as my responsibility to convey that the subject matter is relevant to them in their career and lives. The importance of relevance, in my view, goes beyond the teaching of hard skills. Even in the most theoretical subjects, I aim to explain why having this knowledge or information is of value to them and why pursuing knowledge is a worthwhile activity.
Literacy Matters
If a student’s ideas matter, then the student’s ability to express those ideas matters just as much. Written and oral communication is emphasized in most, if not all, of my classes. Whether it is a critique where the student must learn to communicate with their colleagues or a critical essay, I engage students to communicate what they know and what they have learned.
A student’s voice makes them unique, and in their chosen profession, it is their most valuable asset. My primary desire as an educator is to encourage and develop the expression of that voice, the same way that my most outstanding teachers encouraged the expression of my own.