home

cv

writing

research

teaching

contact

Teaching Philosophy

Download a copy of my teaching philosophy in a PDF format. For more specific information about my teaching experience, please see my cv or email me for my teaching portfolio

The first time I taught I was terrified. With my newly minted Masters Degree, I had decided to adjunct an Introduction to Communications class at Endicott College, and I stood in front of a room of students without a net—no advisors, seasoned professors, or other graduate students. I was there because I had decided that before investing several more years in a PhD, I first needed to be sure that I wanted to teach. As I looked out into the field of jittery undergraduates, I began to ask myself questions in panic such, “What am I doing here?” “Who am I to grade these people?” and “How will I tell them apart?”

But as I began to read their names aloud, and discuss the syllabus, I began to think of teachers who had influenced me over the years. I thought of professors (both undergraduate and graduate) that had helped me question my own assumptions, and at the same time encouraged me to nurture my ideas. I thought of my 10th grade high school teacher who taught me how to trace motifs in Hamlet. I thought of middle school and even elementary school teachers who would not allow me to just get by, and pushed me to push myself in the classroom. And I realized suddenly that, now, I was in the position to be this teacher. I quickly gained momentum and confidence, and by the end of the first class I was sold. I wanted to be the kind of teacher who would influence students for the rest of their lives.

Now, four years later, I will soon be completing my PhD in Communication and Rhetoric and I still want to be that teacher. In the past few years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, I have not only garnered more teaching experience, but also have found several more teaching role-models to emulate. I have found myself watching faculty more closely and thinking things like, “I will do that when I teach” and “that is a great teaching method!” Currently, I am teaching assistant to my advisor, Dr. June Deery, for her Utopian Literature class. Dr. Deery’s excellence as a professor has given me the opportunity to be mentored as a professor and improve my teaching skills. Additionally, at RPI, I taught a course on The History and Culture of Games, and have also worked as a teaching assistant in several classes. While I have learned a great deal in graduate school, the thing that I have tried to learn most is how best to motivate and excite students.

Ultimately, the classroom should not feel like a chore for students. It is a space where they should feel challenged and engaged. Students should be compelled to think critically and to push the boundaries of their worlds. As their instructor, I try to learn with them and to allow them push the boundaries of my world as well. The classroom should involve innovative technologies, and at the same time, humanizing discussions. Using blogs, wikis, and online bulletin boards can help break shy or quiet students out of their shells, and allow them to share their thoughts and opinions in a comfortable manner.

No matter what the subject of the class, there are two broad things that I strive to teach students: better critical thinking skills and more effective writing skills. In order to create an environment where students are able to be critical thinkers, I feel it is essential to create an open, creative, and discussion-oriented environment where students can work through ideas on their own, rather than be told answers or memorize vague theoretical constructs. While often, gentle prodding is necessary to keep them on the right track, I find that when given the right encouragement and topics, students are eager to teach themselves and one another, as much as they are to be taught. Often, to do this, I break students into smaller groups for projects both on a daily basis and also for longer term projects. For instance, when I taught The History and Culture of Games at RPI, I had students group together to design both board games and digital games. This group work allowed them to consider the course topics in a creative and collaborative way.

Additionally, I also consider writing to be pivotal in the classroom. Writing is a key component of every course I teach, and for many classes I assign both longer writing projects and shorter, daily, journal-style writing. This combination of casual and formal writing exercises keeps students constantly honing their writing skills. Additionally, I prefer one or two longer writing assignments, as opposed to giving exams. This allows students to work and learn at a pace they are comfortable with. For students who have trouble writing, I often offer them opportunities to rewrite papers—allowing them to improve and challenge themselves. Learning how to write better not only helps students in my class and other classes, but is an important skill that will help them communicate better once they leave the university setting.

In media studies classes, it is particularly important to stress critical thinking and writing skills. Media studies allows students to question the mass media they have been inundated with since birth, and gives them the opportunity to look more critically at the world around them. Writing projects can help students work through ideas on their own, and analyze the mass media more critically. Additionally, the use of new technologies is pivotal in today’s media studies classroom. By expanding media analysis beyond television and film to broader areas such as digital games, blogs, social networking, and software, I feel that students are better equipped for their futures. While I have previously implemented course web sites where students can access these technologies, I plan to use blogging more regularly for future classes, as opposed to more traditional methods of having them submit journal assignments.

I have no doubt that the teacher that I am becoming deeply reflects many of the teachers that I have had in the past. It would be disingenuous of me to insist that specific teaching methods and ideas that I have used in the classroom are my own—they are a mosaic of all who have taught me. At the same time, I have no doubt that one day I will be part of someone else’s teaching mosaic. And, I can only hope that one day a terrified new professor teaching their first class will be able to coax themselves forward by thinking, “I want to inspire my students like Professor Chess inspired me.”