Teaching Philosophy
An eddy is the safest part of the river to be while kayaking or rafting, as the current flows in a direction reverse to the river thus creating a calm, safe place to meet friends and a way to safely exit the river. Ironically, maneuvering a boat from a strong current into an eddy without flipping it is one of the hardest skills to be learned on the river, and the only way to learn it correctly is to fail until you master the skill. This so-called ‘embracing failure’ is an extremely effective learning technique and is at the core of my teaching philosophy.
Embracing failure is a method that allows students to identify where in the learning process they are making errors so that they can revise their thinking to better learn a concept. I welcome failure into my classroom because it allows my students to understand that the humility of not knowing is a part of the learning process and by failing, they can become better and ultimately master a difficult topic. I encourage any and all questions during my lectures because when I welcome inquisition, everyone learns and does not feel judged. Furthermore, if one student is grappling with a difficult topic, it is in my best interest to address it, because others are likely struggling as well.
By identifying patterns of difficult topics, I can then call attention to them, allowing my students to encode and remember this difficult information. Being an attention researcher myself, there is science to back up this technique. Attention is needed to encode and retain learning material and without it, students will have a difficult time recalling important information later (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). For instance, when students miss something or don’t understand a topic during a lecture, they stop paying attention. In my lectures, I highlight slides and topics that past students have struggled with so that future students can embrace and learn from past mistakes.
Embracing failure feeds into all other aspects of my teaching philosophy. One of these is class evaluations. After an Introductory Psychology exam review, one of my students said that I could have been clearer when I was explaining how neuronal synapses worked. To amend this, I sent an email out to the class clarifying how a synapse worked and revised my slides and explanations for future classes. Furthermore, I take the evaluations that students submit at the end of the course seriously. I identify common complaints and revise my courses accordingly.
With regard to grading and assessments, I provide quizzes on each reading and lecture that count for very few points and can be dropped. This technique allows students to quiz themselves on learning material to identify difficult topics early so that they can master this material before the exam. Similarly, I look through questions that were answered incorrectly on quizzes and if there is a repeated error, I will review this topic during the next class. Because some students have individualized issues, I make myself available outside of class to answer any questions students have. I hold several office hours during the week and am flexible in scheduling my time outside of regular office hours. For instance, while I was a teaching assistant for Abnormal Psychology, a student needed feedback on a writing assignment before it was due but after my regular office hours for the week. I met with her in the evening before class so that she could receive that important feedback before submitting her final draft.
Clear learning objectives are of utmost importance when using the embracing failure learning model as they allow students to understand what is expected of them to master the course. I provide learning objectives in both my syllabus and during to each lecture in order to guide students in the right direction and minimize failure due to faulty teaching practices on the forefront. If learning objectives are convoluted, students will likely fail because I have not provided clear guidelines of what they should know. For example, in an Introductory Psychology discussion section, I was unclear about why the conditions were important in the Implicit Bias task. A student luckily brought this up during class, thus allowing me to provide further explanation and revise my learning objectives to state why these conditions were important to know.
I also incorporate the embracing failure model into active learning. During a classical conditioning demonstration, I spray water (unconditioned stimulus) on a volunteer whenever the word CAN is said (conditioned stimulus) to elicit a flinch response (unconditioned response to spray; conditioned response to CAN). Here, I ask students to identify what part of the demonstration corresponds to what component of classical conditioning (i.e., what is the spray bottle?) so that they can extrapolate the conditions from the original Pavlov experiment to a new situation. If a student gets the answer wrong, I walk them through what each of the components of classical conditioning mean so they can understand why they got the answer wrong. I use this model during think-pair-share discussions as well. I typically pair high achieving students with students who are struggling so that they can think, discuss, and learn concepts in a non-judgmental environment.
In total, embracing failure is a highly effective learning model that allows students to embrace and learn from their mistakes in an accepting environment. This technique encourages me as the instructor to stay humble, as not everyone has the answers and to understand my role in fostering and nurturing the learning process. Returning upstream to my initial river analogy: Although the river water is frigid and moves swiftly and nobody purposefully flips their kayak, sometimes this process is the best way to learn.
Embracing failure is a method that allows students to identify where in the learning process they are making errors so that they can revise their thinking to better learn a concept. I welcome failure into my classroom because it allows my students to understand that the humility of not knowing is a part of the learning process and by failing, they can become better and ultimately master a difficult topic. I encourage any and all questions during my lectures because when I welcome inquisition, everyone learns and does not feel judged. Furthermore, if one student is grappling with a difficult topic, it is in my best interest to address it, because others are likely struggling as well.
By identifying patterns of difficult topics, I can then call attention to them, allowing my students to encode and remember this difficult information. Being an attention researcher myself, there is science to back up this technique. Attention is needed to encode and retain learning material and without it, students will have a difficult time recalling important information later (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). For instance, when students miss something or don’t understand a topic during a lecture, they stop paying attention. In my lectures, I highlight slides and topics that past students have struggled with so that future students can embrace and learn from past mistakes.
Embracing failure feeds into all other aspects of my teaching philosophy. One of these is class evaluations. After an Introductory Psychology exam review, one of my students said that I could have been clearer when I was explaining how neuronal synapses worked. To amend this, I sent an email out to the class clarifying how a synapse worked and revised my slides and explanations for future classes. Furthermore, I take the evaluations that students submit at the end of the course seriously. I identify common complaints and revise my courses accordingly.
With regard to grading and assessments, I provide quizzes on each reading and lecture that count for very few points and can be dropped. This technique allows students to quiz themselves on learning material to identify difficult topics early so that they can master this material before the exam. Similarly, I look through questions that were answered incorrectly on quizzes and if there is a repeated error, I will review this topic during the next class. Because some students have individualized issues, I make myself available outside of class to answer any questions students have. I hold several office hours during the week and am flexible in scheduling my time outside of regular office hours. For instance, while I was a teaching assistant for Abnormal Psychology, a student needed feedback on a writing assignment before it was due but after my regular office hours for the week. I met with her in the evening before class so that she could receive that important feedback before submitting her final draft.
Clear learning objectives are of utmost importance when using the embracing failure learning model as they allow students to understand what is expected of them to master the course. I provide learning objectives in both my syllabus and during to each lecture in order to guide students in the right direction and minimize failure due to faulty teaching practices on the forefront. If learning objectives are convoluted, students will likely fail because I have not provided clear guidelines of what they should know. For example, in an Introductory Psychology discussion section, I was unclear about why the conditions were important in the Implicit Bias task. A student luckily brought this up during class, thus allowing me to provide further explanation and revise my learning objectives to state why these conditions were important to know.
I also incorporate the embracing failure model into active learning. During a classical conditioning demonstration, I spray water (unconditioned stimulus) on a volunteer whenever the word CAN is said (conditioned stimulus) to elicit a flinch response (unconditioned response to spray; conditioned response to CAN). Here, I ask students to identify what part of the demonstration corresponds to what component of classical conditioning (i.e., what is the spray bottle?) so that they can extrapolate the conditions from the original Pavlov experiment to a new situation. If a student gets the answer wrong, I walk them through what each of the components of classical conditioning mean so they can understand why they got the answer wrong. I use this model during think-pair-share discussions as well. I typically pair high achieving students with students who are struggling so that they can think, discuss, and learn concepts in a non-judgmental environment.
In total, embracing failure is a highly effective learning model that allows students to embrace and learn from their mistakes in an accepting environment. This technique encourages me as the instructor to stay humble, as not everyone has the answers and to understand my role in fostering and nurturing the learning process. Returning upstream to my initial river analogy: Although the river water is frigid and moves swiftly and nobody purposefully flips their kayak, sometimes this process is the best way to learn.
