The positive impact that a teacher can make on a student is such an important responsibility: as an instructor, I have an opportunity to challenge assumptions and change the way students view the world around them. I began to understand this power as an English teacher at Gwacheon Elementary School in South Korea, where I taught 3rd-6th grade students. For those students, I was often the first contact they had with a native English speaker, and my English class presented them with a view of the world that they had never seen before. For those students, and for the gifted high school students I taught during summer courses, or the undergraduates I taught at Duke, the thrill of grasping new or difficult material was visible, and was incredibly rewarding to me as their teacher. As a biological anthropology teacher, I want my students to emerge from my courses with a greater knowledge of the origins of human anatomical and behavioral diversity in the broad context of primate evolution. More importantly, I want them to gain critical thinking skills that allow them to ask good questions, and an understanding of the scientific process that allows them to find the answers. I believe that fostering an evidence-based approach to interpreting the world around us will help cultivate in my students the necessary skills for scientific thinking, analysis, and communication and these skills will be useful in any chosen career path.
I recognize that students arrive at my class with a variety of learning styles, backgrounds, and interests. I attempt to engage all of my students by promoting active participation using a variety of teaching methods. When presenting new material, I use multi-media technologies (laptops, projectors, speakers) and incorporate websites (Prezi, Youtube) to spark discussion. I relied on multiple methods of presenting information when I instructed a Primate Biology course for Duke’s Talent Identification Program, a rigorous academic summer camp for gifted teens. During my lectures on primate behavior and culture I included short videos of primates engaging in the behaviors I was explaining, and encouraged students to discuss what they saw. I intersperse my lectures with short writing responses or small group discussions. By using a variety of teaching methods, students are able to solidify comprehension of material and build on their new knowledge. I also designed and instructed a Human Evolutionary Anatomy course at Duke University for upper level undergraduates, and regularly asked my students to critically read recent research in the field, provide a short written summary, and identify strengths and weaknesses in the research. I found that having students write their responses to the literature helped foster analytical thinking and highlight the scientific process. I encouraged students to evaluate different points of view, both in the literature and amongst themselves, during group discussions, building their critical thinking skills and providing an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge to a broader context.
As an educator, I understand the value of students developing ideas on their own and teaching them to others. I encourage peer instruction by structuring my classes such that students have an opportunity, through both small group work and more formal presentations, to present their ideas to their classmates. For example, in my Primate Biology class, students did a short research project on a chosen species of primate, and taught basic information about that species to the other students in the class; in my Human Evolutionary Anatomy class, students did research project proposals on different areas of paleoanthropological research, and gave formal presentations to the class. I find that students develop a stronger sense of responsibility for their education through these activities. In this same vein, I encourage peer review of writing assignments. In my Human Evolutionary Anatomy class, students did peer reviews at multiple stages of the writing process for their research proposal assignment; this activity fostered strong writing skills, helped to develop the ideas of each students’ work, and gave students an opportunity to practice giving constructive feedback.
Hands-on experience is one of the best ways to help students connect with the material they are learning. Teaching biological anthropology offers a unique opportunity to teach lab-based courses. My experience leading labs as a teaching assistant for anatomy based courses at Duke University has highlighted the value of letting students physically interact with the material they are learning about. I incorporated this technique in my Primate Biology course: my students were interested in learning about primate anatomy, so I developed a lab using a collection of comparative primate skeletons. In the lab, I asked students to draw on what they knew about primate locomotion to create expectations based on the anatomy they saw. In the same course, students got an opportunity to be active primatologists at the Duke Lemur Center, and they were able to put what they learned about data collection methods to practice. In my Forensic Anthropology course taught to Duke undergraduates, I frequently included lab activities so students were able to get hands-on experiences with human skeletal elements and with using natural variation to determine characteristics useful in making a positive ID. Biological anthropology courses offer students the distinctive opportunity to experience behavioral data collection, or handle a primate skeleton, or compare and contrast fossil skulls, and this physical interaction with the course material is invaluable in helping students connect abstract concepts with real-world examples.
Useful assessment is a critical component of good teaching. I make sure that my goals are clear to my students in my syllabi (example: Bodies of Evidence). I try to tailor my assignments to the goals of the class. For example, to highlight the importance of understanding the scientific process, I ask my students to create a mock research proposal. I use exams and lab practicals to assess my students' comprehension of course material. In fast-paced courses, like my 6-week summer course for Forensic Anthropology, I give frequent short quizzes instead of larger exams. This satisfies student assessment, and is a more efficient use of limited class time. For appropriate assignments (research papers, for example), I invite my students to collaborate with me in creating a rubric (here is an example of a collaborative rubric from my Human Evolutionary Anatomy course). I find that when students are involved in agreeing on the standards for success, they are more likely to meet them. While graded assignments play a role in assessing the progress of my students, I find that formative assessment is more useful to them. I regularly ask my students to write short, low stakes responses to readings or to class material. I also invite them to generate test questions during reviews. In these ways, I can assess the level of my students' understanding of material and address gaps prior to graded exams.
Just as I assess my students, so must I assess my success as a teacher. I invite feedback from my students at the end of a course (here are examples of student evaluations of my work as a teaching assistant and an instructor), and use it critically to improve my teaching style. After teaching Primate Biology, some students reported that I moved through material too quickly. As a result, I updated the syllabus to include more time for formative assessment so that I can make sure my students are following the course material. My teaching experience thus far has been focused on small class sizes. I have typically taught between fifteen and twenty-five students. While I have been tailoring my teaching strategies for this classroom environment, I realize that I may need to employ different strategies to teach larger introductory courses. I am actively working to become a more effective instructor through the Certificate in College Teaching program through Duke's Graduate School. I am taking courses on pedagogy, and I participate in peer-review of my teaching style. I benefit from this peer-review two-fold: I get feedback directly on my techniques as a teacher, and I also get to reflect on my pedagogy while observing my colleagues, which often leads to both of us learning new practices to improve our instruction. I look forward to continuing to grow as a teacher and a mentor, and to the opportunity to work closely with students inside and outside the classroom.
To download a PDF version of my teaching philosophy, click here.
