As a future teacher of first year composition, I will uphold a student-centered approach to teaching. It has to be about the students. I will view my role as a facilitator in the classroom, not a transferor of knowledge or dictator. It’s imperative that students know I am on their side but that they are responsible for their learning; I will encourage them to be active participants in the learning process. Therefore, the fist belief that underlies my teaching is student engagement. When teaching I value activities that are appealing, challenging, and foster critical thinking. I came to the realization that student engagement is important when writing my literacy autobiography. After reflecting on the experiences that have shaped my literacy, I realized that I was strongly influenced by my 11th grade English Teacher, Mr. Keber and his unconventional teaching methods. Mr. Keber challenged all of his students and would expect nothing but the highest quality work. His creativity was a rare commodity and the lecture he gave us everyday as we left the classroom, “don’t drink, don’t do drugs, wear your seatbelts,” left the impression that he truly cared. I never worked as hard for a teacher in high school, and his love of English and his intellectual hunger are qualities he instilled in me. Rarely do teachers come along who work hard to engage students like Mr. Keber, and that is why I cannot talk about my philosophy of teaching without mentioning him as my inspiration. His teaching style made me want to strive to attain his ability to educate our future generation as graciously and as surely as he did.
Next, I view writing as an ongoing process instead of a product. After working at the Missouri State University Writing Center, I realized that often times, learning happens more in a one-on-one setting than in the classroom. Additionally, encouraging students to go to the writing center will help them realize that writing often occurs in many stages, and that although it can be improved over time, it is rarely, if ever, “perfect” or finished. Furthermore, the emphasis on collaboration and the peer-to-peer dynamic is less intimidating for students, which enables them to more fully express their concerns, get more personalized assistance, and most importantly, take responsibility for their work. To demonstrate my belief that writing centers are a great tool for learning, I created a multimedia presentation to help students understand the value and purpose of the writing center and encourage them to check it out for themselves.
My next belief is that learning is a community building process. This belief goes along with the social constructivist pedagogy, which places a high priority on individual learners and what they can contribute—through collaboration, ideas, and experiences—to the group that will enhance learning. Asking students to perform a specific task or solve a problem, for example, is a different experience if they do it individually or in small groups. It is known, however, that student-led, task-oriented small groups can have a positive influence on writing and enable the transfer of skills (Hillocks, 1989). Therefore, collaboration between students will enable them to acknowledge different viewpoints, think critically, and solve problems. I, along with my partner Micah, led a discussion and activity on this topic to help the class think about the functions of group work in the classroom and, more specifically, how it can develop students’ writing skills. Here is a link to our PowerPoint presentation.
Last, I believe that students should receive personalized and specific feedback on their writing. Comments on student writing should promote reflection, encourage revision, and advocate audience awareness. Based on Straub’s article about directive and facilitative commentary, I take a middle-ground approach that leaves students ultimately responsible for their revisions but that directs them and offers specific suggestions for improvement. For my graduate assistantship, I grade and comment on at least 35 assignments a week. Both students and my supervisor have the ability to rank my comments on a scale of 1 to 5. Students consistently score my comments a 4 (very helpful) or 5 (exceedingly helpful), proving that I strive to give students positive feedback and constructive criticism that will enable them to become better writers.
