The Value of Teaching:

A Statement of Teaching Philosophy

by Parisa Khodabakhshi
The Function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.
Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Teaching is beyond transmitting knowledge to an audience, but to help provide an insight
on how the body of knowledge can be useful in real world. Students must be equipped
with the understanding of the practicality of what they are being taught. This can only
happen by actively involving the students in class activities. In addition, I believe that if
engineering students learn the process of solving a general problem, they can apply it to any
problem/project they face in their professional life. In my opinion, learning is basically that
aha! moment which is far beyond merely memorizing and remembering some material.
Although learning can happen in any place, a good teaching environment can facilitate its
speed and quality. Teachers play a significant role in their students lives. A faculty member
good at teaching can shape the future of the students who might become inclined towards
what they are being taught. Most of the times, students choose their majors (both at
undergraduate and graduate level) based on the courses they enjoyed the most.
During my graduate studies, I took several courses with the same instructor who in my
point of view did a very good job at teaching. He always provided an informative course
syllabus in the beginning of the semester. He regularly came back to it to point out what
had been covered and how we planned to go through the rest of the concepts. I believe
that as an instructor it is my responsibility to clearly state the expectations and goals of
the course. Students should be able to picture the end in mind, and they should also have
a good understanding of the steps needed to be taken to get there. To achieve this goal, I
would explicitly include the learning outcomes in the course syllabus. Also at the beginning
of each class I would summarize what had been covered to that date, an outline of what
would be covered, and how that would help us through the course and in the future. I would
also clarify to the students what is the expectation from them on each topic. To be more
specific, there are some topics in each course which are very fundamental to it, whereas,
some other concepts are just touched briefly. For example, students should know whether
they should be able to design a member based on what they have learned, interpret some
data, or describe a concept. Each of the tasks requires a different level of understanding
of the topic. This can be elucidated by giving examples in the class, and assignments to
highlight the desired learning outcome.
As for the teaching strategy, I believe that students learn better when they are involved in
the process of teaching. Due to the abundance of the material to be taught, some instructors
choose to be the only person talking in the class so that they can cover more in the given
time. I personally think as far as the major concepts are embraced, it is better to cover less
material, but to allow students to grasp the ideas and realize how each part of the course
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Teaching Statement

Parisa Khodabakhshi

is applied in real life problems. I will make sure that students realize that they are a main
part of the teaching process and we are all in this together. Depending on the course itself,
I will make use of different technological aids to help engage students in the class. These
will only be used to help enhance the quality of learning for students, and I will ask students
whether they benefit from the new teaching strategies or not. If students find the method
not helpful enough, other methods will be used.
Not all students perform equally in a specific method of assessment. Therefore, I would
include several assessment methods (depending on the course to be taught) such as quizzes,
short-answer, comprehensive problem-solving, take-home exam. Also, I will assign regular
assignments during the course which help the students learn the material, and how it can be
applied to solve the problems. In addition, assignments can be used as part of the evaluation
process which helps decrease the stress for exams. In both assignments and exams, I try
not to be final-answer-oriented (unless it is a short-answer exam), but to value the process
of problem-solving. Group projects (if applicable) are also a good evaluation method where
students learn several things, such as team work, professional communication, and learning
through diversity.
Any class is different from the other in several terms such as students background,
ethnicity, and diversity. Therefore, I think that the teaching strategy, and assessments should
be to some extent flexible to meet the needs of each class. I will regularly ask students to
provide feedback on the teaching methods, assignments, and methods of assessment. I will
make sure they can submit their feedback anonymously, so that they feel free to reveal what
they truly think. Based on the feedback, I can make modifications to meet the needs of the
majority of the class. For the few students who have feedback I cannot implement in the
class, I can have adjustments during office hours. For example, if only a few students say
that the class is mostly a restatement of what they already know, I can define a voluntary
group project such that they learn more from the class. Or if on the other hand a few of
them have problem in grasping the gist of the class, I can set extra office hours so they can
come and ask what they didnt understand.
I believe that STEM1 teaching is a matter of practice and applicability. Therefore, I
attempt to teach students not only a specific problem and methods of solving it, but how to
encounter new problems in a professional way.
Provide examples, showcase of your strength, student reviews, read Jackies

Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

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