TEACHING & LEARNING PHILOSOPHY 

As a younger student in high school, i would always find myself questioning my teacher’s teaching styles. I would wonder why they would ask us to do certain things with so many requirements and then grade harshly without trying to understand us or explain things better to students. Some teachers I would agree with in the way they taught their class. other teachers, I would quietly criticize because I felt they were too cruel or expected too much.

 

As I have continued on with my education journey and now am almost finished with my bachelor’s degree, I have learned so much more about how to properly teach and interact with students. Granted of course, I don’t know it all and don’t have real teaching experience, but being a mentor has put a lot of things into perspective for me. When it comes to my teaching philosophy, I am mainly considering what I have experienced with both instructors and my peers during my Writing Mentorship, which shaped my main ideals when it comes to teaching. The main values that make up my teaching philosophy are empathy, inclusivity and adaptability. I have chosen these ideals based on the many readings we have had in the internship class connected to being a Writing Mentor.

 

One of the readings that focuses on empathy as a core aspect of writing studies work is titled “Fostering Reflection and Empathy: Narratives as Pedagogical Tools in Writing Consultation Preparation” By Jeffrey G. Howard. In this paper, Howard speaks on this “pedagogy of empathy”, a term coined by Noreen Lape, which refers to being able to cultivate an environment for students that allows them to communicate and work with their mentors in a safe place made from empathy tutors already have. Howard explains how mentors can work toward this “pedagogy of empathy” by reflecting on their own struggles and inadequacies which will allow them to relate with their students and the issues the students need help solving. This idea has framed the way I view empathy when it comes to listening and connecting to my students while working with them on their writing.

 

When it comes to teaching and helping students, inclusivity is one of the first ideals to take into consideration and how that may look for each student. As someone who has learning to do when it comes to working with students of differing capabilities, the reading titles “Disability in the Writing Center: A New Approach (That’s Not So New)” by Kerri Rinaldi widened my understanding and provided me with the appropriate approach when it comes to inclusivity. Rinaldi talks about how students with disabilities know how they can work best and succeed. She writes, “One of the
most important things to remember when working with a student with a disability,
therefore, is that they know themselves best. This means that no matter what we’ve read about that disability, we should defer to the student because that student’s preferences and self-knowledge are far more important than their disability” (Rinaldi 2015). At times, tutors and instructors might feel the urge to accommodate students in the way they feel is the most comfortable for themselves, regardless of what the student asks for. Rinaldi reminds me that listening to the students about what they need comes before I delve into my own thoughts about what I think would help them.