My teaching philosophy is based on helping my students to be successful in the classroom, in the program and most importantly, in life after graduation. I believe that all students should be treated fairly and as individuals involved in a group setting. I try my best to learn what all of my students are attempting to accomplish and to help them achieve their goals. Educating someone is more than just being a lecturer/instructor; it is about helping students discover their true passion and then providing them the best opportunity possible for them succeed. In every discipline I am teaching, I endeavor to make the students comfortable and confident in their class. I try to be an example of this by being prepared and passionate in my teaching. I bring enthusiasm and energy to all my classes. When students see that I am thoroughly knowledgeable and believe in what I am teaching, it builds their interest and they enjoy coming to class. The will see that I love what I do. Teaching has always been the most rewarding job I have ever had. Seeing that “light bulb” finally turn on in a student who finally gets it is one of the professional accomplishments I am proudest of. When the proper classroom environment is maintained, students want to learn and can be challenged to achieve more than they thought they could. One of the most important concepts I hope to impart on students is that learning is a process that is lifelong. Personally, the learning process includes improving myself professionally. I want to learn more about contemporary learning theories to expand my understanding of how learning takes place. As I continue to instruct classes, I always look for new and better methods and means of presenting information to classes in order to improve the learning atmosphere I create for students. I believe learning must be structured to help students understand and relate new knowledge to their life experiences when possible. With regard to the revised Bloom's taxonomy, I focus on helping my students understand both factual and conceptual knowledge. This understanding allows them to construct new knowledge and improve their critical thinking skills by analyzing and applying what they have learned. To do this I engage my students by providing applicable examples in my lectures that allow the students to understand the lesson by relating it to their personal experiences. My goal is for the students to become free thinkers and be able to apply what they have learned to situations or problems they may not have encountered yet. In all of my classes I require students to have at least one project applying their learning to new situations. An example from mathematics: after the unit on surface areas of different

geometric shapes, I have the students approximate the surface are of a curved surface (an egg) using tessellated flat plane figures. In Kinesiology, I will have the students come up with a new activity to use different skills (this is how flicker ball came about at ATM). I believe, to be successful in the job market, students must learn to present themselves well to others. Understanding that this is not a strength of most students, I believe it is important to help them acquire public speaking skills when the opportunity presents itself to ensure their success in the workforce. Learning is more than just sitting in a classroom listening and taking notes. When possible, I introduce them to industry professionals to give the students first-hand knowledge of the types of positions available to them. My hope is that my students discover their passion and obtain the knowledge to apply it to their further education or their dream job when they graduate.