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Last updated March
17, 2000
|
PHILOSOPHY
OF TEACHING
for
Derek R. Lane, Ph.D.
Trust.
Cooperation. Support. Mutual Respect. These are the four fundamental
features of the optimal learning environment that allow me to make connections
with and for my students. The key contribution I make as an undergraduate
educator (which I like to think originates from my attitude about students
and the key role communication plays in the teaching and learning process)
is the innovative teaching technique I have been fortunate to share with
my students and colleagues throughout the academy. I genuinely enjoy
and greatly benefit from teaching. For me, helping students to
understand the theory and application of communication in multiple contexts
always leads to an improved clarity and sense of renewal in my own personal
development as an educator, researcher, and student of communication science.
While I have only been at the University of Kentucky for four years, I
have been a professional educator for almost two decades. During
this time I have realized the importance of communication in the teaching
and learning process. I have often argued that the difference
between knowing and teaching is communication. I view the classroom
as the crucible of knowledge and inquiry from which teachers and students
emerge as both better teachers and better students. The curriculum
I teach challenges students to observe and explain human communication
phenomena from multiple social scientific perspectives.
The innovative teaching technique to which I refer is an adaptation of
Team Learning, a well-established pedagogy which employs student-centered,
experiential, collaborative learning groups (for representative articles
see: Michaelson, Watson, & Schraeder, 1985; Michaelson & Black,
1994; Michaelsen, Fink, & Black 1996; Michaelsen, Fink, & Knight,
1997). This instructional strategy was the focus of my doctoral dissertation
which was completed at the University of Oklahoma in 1996. My goals in
using a team learning approach include the following: To expose the students
to new ideas—making them responsible and accountable for their learning;
To impart new skills and generate some excitement on their part, motivating
them to master the material; To illustrate new ideas and develop skills
by analyzing as many interesting examples and applications as possible;
To give the students a framework for following up on new ideas and skills,
either on their own or in subsequent course work; To engage the students
with the course material so that they understand the theory and principles
behind each concept, and then challenge the students to process and apply
their new knowledge. I teach in order to serve the students and to
strengthen my own knowledge by learning from my students.
It is through my teaching and student questioning that my students and
I have grown and developed academically. The enthusiasm generated
in my classes by students is contagious. As a result of their enthusiasm,
I have had the opportunity to collaborate with several colleagues within
our college and across the campus (e.g. Engineering, Interior Design, Mathematics,
Economics) to assist in the implementation and adaptation of team learning
in their undergraduate and graduate classrooms. These collaborative efforts
have led to additional service opportunities for me to “spread the word”
in other colleges, departmental meetings, college retreats, and presentations
sponsored by the UK Teaching and Learning Center.
I am also an advocate of the use of technology and instructional web pages
as teaching tools. I have created web pages for most of my courses
and I use them extensively in my teaching (www.uky.edu/~drlane).
I encourage increased outside contact between my students and me.
The Team Learning instructional methodology promotes active learning techniques
and helps to develop reciprocity and cooperation among students while allowing
me to provide students with frequent opportunities to apply what they have
learned and to receive feedback on their learning progress. I emphasize
time on task and communicate high expectations but maintain a high level
of respect for diverse talents and ways of learning.
My graduate courses allow me the opportunity to mentor students as I present
a more inclusive view of what it means to be a scholar and encourage graduate
students to recognize that knowledge is acquired through research,
through synthesis, through practice, and through teaching.
This perspective of scholarship is consistent with Boyer’s (1990) Scholarship
Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate where he argues that the
four broad categories of scholarship (discovery, integration,
engagement,
and teaching) dynamically interact to form an interdependent whole.
I have the reputation of being demanding–but fair. I set high expectations
for my teaching and my students. Both graduate and undergraduate students
alike are successful because they understand I expect and will accept only
their best work. Students learn quickly that their success is a logical
outcome of doing things well. It is because students are successful
that I have been recognized for my teaching.
For example, I recently learned that I have been selected as one of only
six professors at the University of Kentucky as a “Great Teacher for
Year 2000.” I was nominated In the summer of 1999 by the Dean of Undergraduate
Studies and Research for inclusion in the U.S. Professors of the Year Program.
In the past three years I have twice been nominated by students and faculty
for the University of Kentucky’s Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Teaching
(Non-tenured Faculty category). Finally, I was honored by the College
of Communications and Information Studies with the 1998 Excellence in
Teaching Award. My success is only possible because students
are successful.
I recognize that while I have much to offer my students, I have plenty
to learn from them as well. Teaching allows me to be a positive professional
role-model as well as a student. Team learning provides a vehicle
for me to make a key contribution as an undergraduate teacher. It
also facilitates connections to other professionals which allows me to
continually grow as a teacher, a researcher, and a student. I contribute
to graduate education at the University of Kentucky though my mentoring
and a more inclusive view of what it means to be a communication scholar.
Communication is the crucial link between a knowledgeable teacher and students
who are able to learn. Making connections begins with trust, cooperation,
support, and mutual respect. |