The reward of teaching is seeing the eyes of students opened to new ideas and their amazement and wonder upon exploring the natural world. Fostering their ability to obtain knowledge and understanding of complex subject matter by taking a methodical and disciplined approach is the role I want to play in students' lives. The reward for students can also come from them realizing, perhaps for the first time, that they have the power to set their own goals and achieve them. It is of utmost importance that this be done in camaraderie with fellow students, with a good degree of fun, and with help readily available when things get difficult. Demonstrating course mastery is just one of the expectations I have for my students. What may be just as important to take out of a classroom are the many intrinsic values such as, the ability to independently solve problems, the background to know where to find substantive information, and the confidence that comes with a thorough understanding and analysis of a given situation.
One of my goals in teaching is to accommodate the diverse learning styles exhibited by the students in a classroom. A good combination of verbal, visual, and hands-on approaches to teaching is essential if the majority of students are to be reached. My classrooms are open, non-threatening environments where equal access is given to all earnest students. Availability outside of class during office hours and other times is a key means for helping students who are having difficulty in class, and as such I make myself highly visible and accessible via e-mail for those who need assistance. My experiences as a tutor helped me to develop skills to communicate with individuals of many backgrounds and to explain science to those who originally thought that they would never understand it. I have a passion for this kind of teaching and try to fully use all of my skills—and to develop new ones—as a means of reaching out to students (especially those who might not readily ask for help). Patience and the demonstration to students that I am also focused on continuous learning mean a lot in convincing them that educational pursuits are of value.
As an instructor I strive to make lessons as hands-on as possible. Fortunately in the biological and environmental sciences, this can easily be arranged through laboratory exercises, in class demonstrations, and the use of computer-based programs and the Internet. To balance the visual and mechanical methods of learning, I also foster the development of abstract thinking skills. Students learning from lectures, readings, in-class discussions, and personal experiences and then synthesizing this information to intelligently explain something new to them, to develop novel questions, or to generate original ideas begins an important and exciting journey. My role is as facilitator; I cannot give students everything they need to know, rather I point them in the right direction and coach them along the way. Students are encouraged in methods of self-teaching such as in assignments that they design and execute largely on their own (e.g., independent readings, experiments that they can use to explore more of a particular subject than we have time for in class, or the writing of a review on some topic of interest to them).
I have seen that often in the quest to have students understand course material, many other important skills and abilities are left underdeveloped. In my courses, I set the standards high; a multidisciplinary approach is always taken. Good writing skills, mathematical and statistical skills, computer skills, and demonstration of synthesis of ideas are all taken into account in students' grades. If standards are not set high, then where are they to be set? Since these notions may be new to students, I take them through a transition stage where they learn what I expect of them and I help them to achieve these goals. Drafts of papers are previewed so that mistakes may be corrected and writing improved before a final grade is given, and outlines of what will be expected on exams are discussed prior to students taking the exams. Those students wishing to advance their skills and achieve good grades will do so to their benefit, and over time other students will join them.
Setting the above demands on students would be unfair and hypocritical if the same standards did not apply to myself. That is one of the important lessons I have learned as a student: emulating self-demanding teachers has always led to great satisfaction with the work I do. This includes preparing to teach a class. If I do not have a thorough understanding of the material, I will not be trusted or respected in the future. This leads to another point: it is better to admit not knowing something and show students how to figure something out than it is to have all the answers. Like the students, my goals should include the pursuit of knowledge. Having a terminal degree means I have only raised more questions than I can answer! I hope to express in class that the desire to learn should never end. While I may have a broader experience and more formal training in a given subject, my mission is to help students appreciate the subject by drawing on my background. As long as we are starting with the same basic principles, we can help each other to discover truths and scientifically test and expand what is known in the field.
My job as an educator is to be intimately familiar with the course material I present in class and to stay current with ways that will improve my teaching and communication abilities. This will let me most fully assist my students in becoming masters of the subject area I have expertise in and help them develop their critical thinking, communication, and scientific skills. In active research projects, I am constantly learning and solving problems of my own. This can only translate into a greater focus in the classroom and a better understanding of what my students are experiencing as they embark on their educational journeys in science.
In summary, I have worked hard to refine my teaching skills ever since first teaching science at the high school level. Teaching has been a part of who I am for many years and I know it will be a large part of the rest of my life. Nothing satisfies me more than impacting individuals in ways that encourage them to love learning and to forge successful paths in professional life.
© 2002 Seán O'Connell