My Teaching Philosophy

My general teaching focus at tertiary institutions (university/polytechnic/college/secondary) is to promote learning by engaging students in their learning environment, promoting higher order thinking skills and respecting their opinions and backgrounds.

I developed my respect for education and passion for teaching at a very early age in my life. My mentors HOD, Engr. Idris Oyeladun at IMFI Udi Street and Dr. Udoinyang, and All the Staff of Computer Science and My able HOD, Mr. Ubon A. Obonguko at AKWAPOLY, an academic, planted the commitment to lifelong learning. My parents nourished this commitment with a sense of responsibility and respect to others.

At the heart of my teaching style is the passion to be a teacher. I take great pride in the opportunity to impart knowledge and shape lives. I use my energy and enthusiasm to engage students in the courses I am teaching. I achieve this through the use of verbal (tone, pitch and speed) and non-verbal (walking around, eye contact and body language) cues. I also frequently ask questions and use in-class activities to capture student interest. Common words from faculty/department course evaluations used to describe my teaching are enthusiasm and energetic.

I began to teach at an early age, after my diploma programme as a computer instructor/teacher, as I was entering my undergraduate studies in the School of Applied Sciences. My teaching was related to the community with a focus on teaching undergraduate Students (young girls and boys) in ND and HND, degree, the value of education.

Two years later, after working as a teacher I returned to school knowing the importance of an education and learning, in general, to carrying one forward in life. Fortunately at this stage of my education I encountered a mathematics teacher, Mr. Gregory George among others, at Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic using teaching styles and techniques conducive to a learning environment that I carry with me today. If it were not for these teaching styles and techniques, I may not have furthered my education. As a consequence, I am intimately aware to the importance of effective teaching to disseminate knowledge and maintain interest among students. To do so, there are three primary aspects of this teaching environment that I believe to be critical.

First, the student-teacher relationship must be established. This relationship is based on mutual respect and the recognition of boundaries. Without an environment in which the student feels their role in the classroom is important, that student will not play an active role in the learning process. Similarly, the students must have respect for the teacher if they are to engage in the learning process. It is the responsibility of the teacher to establish this two-way relationship through acknowledgement of the students and creating a space for learning.

Second, the classroom environment itself needs to be appropriate for the teaching technique. Whether it is a lecture, a discussion group, or a computer lab, the students’ attention needs to be focused in the appropriate direction. Lecture halls are not conducive to discussions and a seminar room is not appropriate for a lecture. In short, the learners need to be in a position to listen or to participate. If the space of learning is not optimal, the teacher may have to adapt the teaching technique to the space provided.

And third, the teacher needs to create an intellectually engaging environment, where material is not only taught, but questioned by those present. Abstract theory must be tied to the real world, a description of events must be related to the historical context, and political action placed within philosophy. An environment of critical thinking that has students confront, evaluate, assimilate, and synthesize new information in order to apply that information critically, practically, and effectively for decision-making and problem-solving develops the students’ experience to be much more than the memorization of facts and figures that will be forgotten or superseded in today’s ever-changing world. This type of environment will bring students into the learning process, rather than keeping them on the side-lines of knowledge.

My goal is to create the positive aspects to the students that are ready, in order to develop students that not only recite memorized facts and figures, but have an understanding of the material taught and the process in which they came to learn that knowledge. Ultimately, through time, the environment I create with the students in the classroom will evolve as I learn from their experience.

My teaching philosophy when I started was based on respecting my young students and providing methods and tools that could help them in being independent and thus able to make the right decisions in the future. As the years passed, I discovered that teaching and learning is a two-way process; the more I teach, prepare for my classes and engage with my students the more I learn.

As they grew my focus shifted to mentor volunteers and guide them through reviewing and enhancing their research work. The curriculum that I designed encouraged creative teaching approaches developed collaboratively. During the weekly classes, I emphasized the importance of team work and mutual respect. Through my passion about the subject, I was able to engage my students in an enjoyable learning experience. As a teacher, I learned from my students. I challenged them and focused on helping them how to learn.

I entered the workforce in higher education, and I continued to carry with me the commitment to better education and respect for my students’ knowledge and experience. My teaching philosophy evolved, to include applying principles and theories that relate to adult learning and constructivism. The constructivist theory explains that learning happens by creating a meaning from experience and what the learner knows is based on his/her own experience (Ertmer & Newby, 1993). Furthermore, in adult learning theories, the learner is involved and takes responsibility of his/her learning process. The learners self-reflect, gather information, collaborate with others and are self-directed (Conlan, Grabowski & Smith, 2003). In recognizing how adult learners perceive education, I incorporated in my teaching case studies and real life examples.

In my current work environment, my students are highly educated and professional adults and I became more of a facilitator. In this role, my goal is to help the learners to analyse, evaluate and critically reflect on their own experiences rather than simply transfer knowledge. To achieve this goal, I have designed activities that could facilitate their learning in face-to-face. For example, I have developed a workshop on facilitating group work among students; the workshop includes a group activity in which participants share their own experiences with groups and provide recommendations to the participants. The outcomes of the workshop became a knowledge base for subsequent workshops and resources for participants who did not attend the workshop.

With my background in computer science, and experience in project management, I use technology as a means to facilitate my own learning. Through my learning networks, Facebook and personal blog, I participate in open dialogue with experts in the technology field. Similarly in my teaching, I encourage my students to explore new tools that could help them effectively collaborate and present their work. For example, I offered workshops/Seminars and Tutorials on Computer Programming and Object-Oriented Programming, Computer Networking, Computer Maintenance and Repairs, Web Development, Database Management System, Project Management Professional (PMP), Health and Safety Environment Management (HSE), I was able to help participants to practice the use of the tool, answer their questions and promote self-exploration. With a focus on higher order thinking skills, my teaching strategies promote students’ critical thinking in self-directed and safe learning environments.

Through a clear understanding and application of adult learning theories, I believe that it is my role as an instructor, to provide learning solutions that could enhance the learners’ learning experience. Additionally, it is my role to include all learners and help them in understanding their role and responsibility in the learning process. For example, I created tutorials to help them understand the various technology tool associated with the distance course.

Finally, as I reflect on my teaching, I perceive teaching as an enjoyable and fulfilling experience that I would like to continue to share with students. I hope students will develop their own ways of learning, and reflect positively on their lives and the community.

Victor Unya _{HND, MNCS, PMP, HSE, PDE}