Teaching Philosophy

Introduction

I used to believe that learning is merely the act of pouring knowledge from a fuller vessel to a less full vessel. From the many years of actually studying and experiencing learning to teach first hand, I have come to realise that the process of learning involves much more than just a transfer of knowledge. It involves negotiating and re-negotiating one's own beliefs, experiences, and perceptions; alignment of assumptions; and challenging one's own identity. It is by experiencing knowledge through the aforementioned processes that one may truly find the 'value' of knowledge.

Negotiating & Re-negotiating Beliefs, Experiences, and Perceptions.

We can say that:

"Learning may happen when a person opens a book and read it with his/her full interest. Learning may happen when a jogger plugged an audiobook and listens to a lecture attentively while cruising his/her way in the park. Learning may happen when a student watches his/her teacher demonstrates how to dissect an insect."

But for the most part of it, learning is truly a wondrous process, as by itself, it does not display any observable artefacts that may be called as "learning is happening". Learning is by default, a cognitive process. Unless each student is strapped onto an ECG device that educators can use to see neural activities that are happening simultaneously while following a set of instruction, we can't directly observe the 'learning' process. As a result, educators latched onto a more behaviouristic approach in measuring this. By watching a change of behaviour, as an indicator that learning has already occurred in the brain. This has been the default way of assessing students' learning, for many years.

Courses I Taught:

KPD 3016 - Pedagogy, Technology, and Assessment 1;
KPD 3026 - Pedagogy, Technology, and Assessment 2;
KPK 3012 - Inclusive Education;
KPT 60104 - Instructional Technology Skills;
KPT4033 - Technology and Innovation in Education;

Recent years witnessed a progressive sway of educators, detaching themselves from the behaviouristic way of teaching i.e. drill and practice, towards the constructivistic paradigm of teaching and learning. With the introduction of 21 century skills, more educators find it logical to move towards a paradigm that enables a holistic transformation in their students, and constructivism permits such formation, in various ways.

Nevertheless, it has also been known that constructivist theories are fluid in nature, and assume that knowledge is co-constructed through experiential and social interactions.

Fluidity of the paradigm contributes to the 'messy-ness' of the whole teaching and learning process. Educators may find it difficult to ascertain the achievability of learning objectives set for the students, and this may impact the way assessment work in general.

Assumptions exist when there is an absence of knowledge. Borrowing a saying from G.I. Joe (yes, the cartoon), "Knowing is half the battle".

Within the constructivist way of learning, educators need to understand and accept a degree of freedom for learning. Gone were the days when educators were thought to be the 'Sage on Stage', the 'All-Knowing', and the 'Wise-One'. Within the concept of co-constructing knowledge, educators are seen as mediators, guide-at-the-side, and mentors, rather than a sole knowledge providers. Knowledge is now embedded i the environment, and it is up to the educators to design a learning experience that will enable students to experience and acquire the knowledge, first-hand.

It is within these designed learning experience that students will negotiate, and re-negotiate the meaning that they put onto something, and at the end of the meaning-making process, lies the constructed knowledge.

Alignment of Assumptions

We often face the heterogeneity of our students in the classroom. With this comes a hoard of different ideologies, perceptions, and assumptions. Assumptions exist when there is an absence of knowledge. Borrowing a saying from G.I. Joe (yes, the cartoon), "Knowing is half the battle".

Aligning assumptions gives a person the opportunity to realise that the meaning they have formed in a learning process undergone earlier was either flawed or incorrect, and needed to be amended or rectified. Arriving to this point in time is not a simple task, more so if you want to embed this kind of opportunity of discovery within the learning experience that you have designed. This is a known challenge for all educators who want to prepare students who are resilient, and neoteric.

Thus, I believe that as educator, I need to design learning experiences that will enable my students to attain desired outcomes, through experimentation and learning by design. And for this, I call upon the neoteric academia as:

"Learning Experience Designer" (LXD)

Designing Experience

To design such learning experience that enables students' emancipation from the contemporaries rooted in behaviouristic paradigm towards a more fluid, optimistic, and holistic is not an easy feat.

I often found myself overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work needed to be done to pull off a 3-hour student-centred learning experience. This is as a result of a tedious planning that follows one of the most celebrated Instructional System Design used by many i.e. the A.D.D.I.E. model.

Among all of the 5 stages in the model, I have put more focus on the 'Analysis' stage more, as it provides contextual clues as to whom I am serving. From this analysis, I will be able to decide which pedagogical designs best suited for them, determine the right format to design the materials, and understand their needs as a social human being.

My classes are often designed around conversations, or opportunities to spark conversations. For this, I believe deeply in the role of Social Constructivism in designing learning opportunities.

In addition, I also have the tendency to mix theatricalities into my pedagogical design. For example, designing the whole semester as one giant role play, is my favourite approach to teach nowadays. I have attempted to carry out a Star Trek-themed semester, and have recently carried out a full-length Harry Potter -themed semester fully online during the pandemic COVID-19 lockdown, to students of KPD3016.

This fun approach to teaching subject provides a quick escape, a breather, for my students, who often had to follow long lecture hours for other subjects.

of our students in the classroom. With this comes a hoard of different ideologies, perceptions, and assumptions. Assumptions exist when there is an absence of knowledge. Borrowing a saying from G.I. Joe (yes, the cartoon), "Knowing is half the battle".

Aligning assumptions gives a person the opportunity to realise that the meaning they have formed in a learning process undergone earlier was either flawed or incorrect, and needed to be amended or rectified. Arriving to this point in time is not a simple task, more so if you want to embed this kind of opportunity of discovery within the learning experience that you have designed. This is a known challenge for all educators who want to prepare students who are resilient, and neoteric.

Thus, I believe that as educator, I need to design learning experiences that will enable my students to attain desired outcomes, through experimentation and learning by design. And for this, I call upon the neoteric academia as: