I have developed my teaching philosophy during years of study, research, and practical experience in teaching. In my twelve years of undergraduate and graduate, adult and vocational teaching and five years of dedicated research, I have continuously refined my teaching methods to take advantage of what I have learned about teaching and learning. Before starting my doctoral studies, I have gained versatile and varied experiences while I was involved with teaching, instructing, course development, and administrative work in college and universities. During that period, I have designed many programs and courses, labs and their manuals, and workshops. I also assisted and supervised my peers while I was working as department chair and academic dean. Over the past five years I have dedicated myself to research and study about knowing/cognition and learning/instruction in adult and professional education and training. The combination of extensive teaching experience and competency in educational research allowed me to enhance my knowledge and expertise of teaching and to better understand learning; when and how it happens; and how I can improve it.
In my view, to teach is to facilitate students' learning, to value the learners' prior experience and knowledge, and to help students achieve the learning objectives they have set. I believe that the teaching/learning is a collaborative process; co-constructed by teacher, students, and context. I consider my role, as a university teacher, to facilitate learners in the achievement of the objectives they have set in their education as adults. This facilitation includes assisting learners to examine the profession and practice of their career and to identify those areas in which they need to develop skills, knowledge, and competencies. In my course design I always dedicate some spaces for the topics of interest of students. In the first sessions of each course I ask them to express their objectives and collaboratively decide about the topics that they want to include in the course curriculum. By giving the opportunity for input into the course curriculum, most of the time my students generate ideas and set goals that made for engaging, effective, and rich activities. This allowed them to have ownership in the curriculum, which motivated them to work hard and master the skills necessary to reach their goals. I have experienced that students are committed and devoted energy to learning what is relevant to them and their professional goals.
Active Learning
I strongly believe that knowledge is situated and people learn by doing and participation. Depend on the affordances and policies of the university; workplace visit, field trip, lab, and simulators are an integrated part of my teaching practice. I believe that knowledge cannot be separated from its context of use and competencies can be developed through participation. Adult learners are highly motivated to gain those knowledge and competencies that they perceive to be relevant to their future job. They develop these competencies when they engage with realistic and hands-on situations similar to real life complex problems as they occur in everyday work context. Depend on the nature of the courses, I provide access for students to hands-on activities and allow adequate time and space for them to use resources that reinforce the lesson I teach. By doing this I create opportunities for students to get engaged in practice and develop competencies. I observed that adult learners demonstrate a high level of commitment to those learning situations, which address their perceived issues and needs.
Through my research I have realized that adult students better learn by engaging and collaboration with each other. When they have shared enterprise and common goals, if the praxis allow, they create a type of community. I have named this type of community that may develop in the adult formal educational settings quasi-community of practice (e.g. Emad (2010); Emad and Roth, (under review)). I analyzed that adult learners share their knowledge and expertise while being a member of these communities and through collaboration they achieve their common goals. These communities can sustain when they are recognized and appreciated by the teacher. As a teacher I facilitate the creation and sustainability of these communities. These quasi-communities play a crucial role in students’ motivation, engagement, and authentic learning. Drawing on my research results, my teaching pedagogy relies heavily on elements such as students’ collaboration and group work with the aim of engaging students in their learning processes and facilitating the creation of a quasi-community in the classroom.
Assessment of Students
Assessment of adult students’ competencies has an important place in my career. I have dedicated part of my PhD research studies to assessment of adults and practitioners’ assessment. I have analyzed how assessment motivate and shape adult learning in the schools (e.g. Emad, 2010; Emad & Roth, 2008). To me assessment is a process and not a product and that is the reason that I carry out the assessment throughout the course. As a teacher I take adequate steps to ensure that assessment of students is valid, open, fair, and congruent with course objectives. I keep myself updated and aware of research on the advantages and disadvantages of alternative methods of assessment, and based on this knowledge and the knowledge I gained from my own research, select assessment techniques that are consistent with the objectives of the course and nonetheless are as reliable and valid as possible. At the beginning of each course, I negotiate and develop with students the assessment procedures and grading criteria. I grade carefully and fairly, student exams, papers, lab works, and assignments by a rational marking system that is created with the input from students. By means appropriate for the size of the class, I provided my students with prompt and accurate feedback on their performance at regular intervals throughout the course and give them constructive suggestions on how to improve their standing in the course.
Professional development
To educate is to become better educated; it is a circular process that improves with time. I firmly believe that any good teacher remains a good student throughout life. My commitment to scholarship in teaching and to quality educational interactions with my students have prompted my participation in a large number of educational experiences to enhance my personal skills as a teacher. I have participated actively in university faculty development programs as both participant and director. During past few years I have also participated in courses and workshops, which are specifically related to course design, instructional development, and pedagogical/andragogical methods for face-to-face, on-line and blended learning.
Each year I also learn a great deal from my class participants. Feedback from students has been vital to the process of my professional growth, since I began teaching. Adult students come to these learning situations with many skills and abilities, often with expertise in areas that I do not have. Many learners bring valuable experiences that enrich the professional competencies and practice of my classroom. This always adds new meanings and interpretations to myself and the rest of class members’ learning experiences.
Self-Assessment
As a teacher, I constantly evaluate my performances in the classroom every time I teach. This includes; assessing how well I deliver the course and what are students’ reactions to that. It helps me to coming up with ideas on how to improve upon my presentations to maintain student interest. Other important ways I continue to improve my skills as a teacher include; talking with experienced professors and other colleagues for advice, keeping up on current social issues, refreshing my knowledge of the subject being taught, and perhaps the most important tool is using student evaluations to inform me of my strengths and weaknesses.
Accessibility and Interaction with Student
The issue of accessibility is pertinent to several different aspects of my teaching. I aim not only to be present but also to be accessible to my students in the classroom. Outside the classroom, I am accessible to students during office hours and most of the working day and connect with them professionally and socially.
I have served as faculty advisor, department chair, and academic dean of college and university. It is important to me that the students see me taking part in various departmental and university-wide activities and see that I am involved in campus life beyond their classroom. I believe that students learn from interactions with faculty and other students in non-class time. I have tried to be available and accessible to students who are registered in courses I am teaching as well as those who have completed my courses. I have continuing interactions with many of these students in my professional capacity as a faculty member and as a professional. Finally, students deserve respect just as any other person. There must be mutual respect between the students and me. I strive to earn students' respect in a variety of ways, given that respect cannot simply be awarded. I take a sincere interest in the well-being of students and interact with them on professional and social levels. I have experienced that social interactions with students develop a rapport that allow them to feel more comfortable when asking for assistance while in the classroom.
Key Accomplishments
My teaching practice is appreciated and received positive feedbacks from my students, peers, and academic administrators during my career. As a statement to that fact, I have been promoted to Academic Dean of my college in 1995 and subsequently the Academic Dean of a distance education university in 1998. Subsequently in 2003, I have received the outstanding teaching award from ministry of transportation, Iran. In recent years I have been invited to lecture in different occasions and since 2007 I have been appointed as Program Advisory Committee member of Camosun College, Canada (please see my CV).
References
- Emad, G. (2010). Legitimate Learning in Formal Vocational Education, Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences. Elsevier Publication, (ISSN: 1877-0428).
- Emad, G. (2010, Feb). Tracing Legitimate Learning in Formal Vocational Education. Paper presented at the World Conference on Educational Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey.
- Emad, G., Roth, W.-M. (under review). Legitimate Learning in Classroom Community, Journal of Adult Education Quarterly.
- Emad, G., Roth, W.-M. (2008). Contradictions in the Practices of Training for and Assessment of Competency: A Case Study from the Maritime Domain, Journal of Education + Training, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 260-272.
