Teaching Philosophy

 My teaching Philosophy continues to evolve, but I know that it is heavily informed by social-cultural and constructivist perspectives. I believe that students are not passive receivers of information; rather they construct knowledge through experiences and interpret it through individual cultural understandings. This belief led me to conclude that learning is an interactive partnership involving students, teachers, tools, and the environment, where one of my primary responsibilities as a teacher is to share my understanding and excitement so that students develop or enrich their own understanding about the subject. Teaching should employ various methods, to facilitate understanding. This is important given that students bring different tools and strategies to the classroom, that teachers must strive to incorporate. As a comparative international education researcher, I often include content from various countries/cultures and also use international data and case studies to encourage students to incorporate cross cultural perspectives in their learning. This reflects my philosophical belief that learning of others leads to reflection on ones practices thereby helping improve systems. Although emerging technologies are changing the understanding of who counts as students, what learning tools are, and where learning occurs, a successful learning environment is that in which students feel supported in their pursuits because the facilitator has set the expectation of mutual and self-respect. 

I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.’ –Albert Einstein