Teaching Philosophy

Teaching Philosophy
Richard Thripp

I believe that teaching is an interactive experience involving a sharing of beliefs, evidence, and ideas. While some answers may be more correct than others, simply telling students what to think does not help them evaluate or reconcile what has been suggested. Therefore, my college classroom will include many collaborative and individual in-class activities to help the learner better negotiate the course material. In smaller classes, I will regularly use peer-sharing and class presentations—larger classes may require online discussions and simpler in-class activities. As an educator I feel responsible to do whatever I can to help the students learn the material required for the class, as well as other concepts that may interest them if they inquire outside of class.

As a tutor focusing on math and language skills, I found that it is essential to allow students the opportunity to figure out problems on their own. That does not mean I will not guide them in the right direction, but I have learned to refrain from intervening without being asked, especially with math problems. This allows students to build self-efficacy when they are successful at coming up with good ideas without the ideas being suggested by me. As a teacher, I will use similar strategies that are more time-intensive than simply telling students the process and answers, but will have better long-term results for their understanding and performance. While lecturing, I will allow for student questions, and I will intersperse lectures with activities to maintain student interest and engagement.

The role an instructor plays has greatly changed with the technological revolution. Most or all of the information provided in a class can now be found online in text format, with illustrations, or even as videos. It is no longer sufficient for an instructor to simply be a provider of information—he or she must interpret and present the information in a way that is superior to free sources for understanding and mastering the material. Maintaining student interest is a must. With the trend toward online classes, we must recognize and implement the unique opportunities that face-to-face classes offer, such as peer interactions and hands-on learning; otherwise, classroom-based learning might become a dying art. As an educator, a pivotal principle for me is simplicity—covering fewer learning objectives more thoroughly can improve performance, reduce student anxiety, and help less gifted students retain the knowledge and enjoy acquiring it. It also allows me to include activities and exercises that would otherwise be time-prohibitive. Thus, whenever possible, I will actually be teaching less material than other instructors teaching the same course, but with a higher level of rigor, and (hopefully) better long-term results.

Updated 2014-10-31.


Other pages in Richard Thripp’s Teaching Portfolio:

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