I believe that our body of knowledge
is infinite and continually expanding, and that complete understanding of this
body of knowledge is beyond the capabilities of any one person. Because I am
a pragmatist, I believe in the functional interpretation of knowledge, which
is socially mediated. I believe people learn by interacting with others and
with their environment, and construct their own reality through filters that
are created by internalizing these interactions.
I believe that to facilitate learning,
instructors should
- create a classroom environment
that supports and encourages free discussion and differing opinions and approaches
- foster collaborative learning
experiences
- actively engage students in their
learning
- minimize lecture-only delivery
of subject matter by using appropriate instructional technology
- provide opportunities for students
to become members of learning communities
- develop mechanisms to create and
sustain student-student and student-faculty interactions both inside and outside
the classroom
- communicate clear learning goals
and objectives
- relate subject matter to the "real"
world
- encourage critical thinking and
analysis and self-reflection
- provide thoughtful and timely
feedback on assignments
- model the traits of an expert
learner engaged in life-long learning