What do I teach?
Completion of the M.Ed. in Higher Education Student Affairs will provide graduates with comprehensive knowledge and experiences with which to pursue professional employment within an institution of higher education and/or a doctoral degree in Higher Education/Student Affairs.
Courses I currently teach and/or have taught in the HESA program:
Feature piece on p.8 of Spain Study Abroad experience I led in Summer 2016 (undergraduate leadership students) http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/PDFs/CEAP_Newsletter_Fall16.pdf
Feature piece on p.7 of Kenya Study Abroad experience I led in Fall 2016 (graduate HESA students)
http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/PDFs/CEAPNewsletterSpring2017PDF.pdf
What is my teaching philosophy?
I live by the motto that the only thing better than watching someone grow is helping them grow. This motto reflects my teaching philosophy, and what I believe to be my role as an educator. While the mission of educational institutions is to educate the next generation of citizenry to be the critical conscience of society, I believe it is essential for educators to also prepare students for their futures by equipping them with professional, practical, and personal transferable skills. I also believe that educators have a role in helping students gain a realistic perspective of their employment opportunities, which must start early in a student’s academic pursuits. By helping students better manage their expectations of life-after-college and equipping them with skills to be lifelong learners, they will become more critically engaged in their local communities and the global society. Teaching, training, and facilitating learning environments allow me to fulfill what I believe to be fundamental responsibilities of any educator. Those responsibilities are based on providing learners with an educative and challenging environment where curiosity is awakened, intrinsic motivation and active/collaborative learning (the co-construction of meaning) are evident, and the greater connection comes from critical analysis and reflection on both the students’ personal experiences and the course content.
Additional Instructor Notes:
As a learning community, knowledge acquisition and the co-creation of meaning heavily relies on each person’s attendance and engagement in the course work and discussion. I do not view myself as the “knower” of information who lectures as a “sage on a stage.” Rather, I take on the role of a facilitator, a “guide on the side” that encourages students to pull from their own and others’ lived experience to interpret course materials and co-create meaning. This compliments my personal teaching philosophy as well as the CSP Program mission, goals, and outcomes.
Completion of the M.Ed. in Higher Education Student Affairs will provide graduates with comprehensive knowledge and experiences with which to pursue professional employment within an institution of higher education and/or a doctoral degree in Higher Education/Student Affairs.
Courses I currently teach and/or have taught in the HESA program:
- Introduction to Higher Education Student Affairs
- Theories of College Student Development
- History of Higher Education in the U.S.
- Internship in Higher Education (1, 2, & 3)
- Capstone/Seminar in Higher Education Student Affairs
- Professionalism in Higher Education: Becoming a Practitioner-Scholar
- Special Topics: Global Perspectives in Higher Education
Feature piece on p.8 of Spain Study Abroad experience I led in Summer 2016 (undergraduate leadership students) http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/PDFs/CEAP_Newsletter_Fall16.pdf
Feature piece on p.7 of Kenya Study Abroad experience I led in Fall 2016 (graduate HESA students)
http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/PDFs/CEAPNewsletterSpring2017PDF.pdf
What is my teaching philosophy?
I live by the motto that the only thing better than watching someone grow is helping them grow. This motto reflects my teaching philosophy, and what I believe to be my role as an educator. While the mission of educational institutions is to educate the next generation of citizenry to be the critical conscience of society, I believe it is essential for educators to also prepare students for their futures by equipping them with professional, practical, and personal transferable skills. I also believe that educators have a role in helping students gain a realistic perspective of their employment opportunities, which must start early in a student’s academic pursuits. By helping students better manage their expectations of life-after-college and equipping them with skills to be lifelong learners, they will become more critically engaged in their local communities and the global society. Teaching, training, and facilitating learning environments allow me to fulfill what I believe to be fundamental responsibilities of any educator. Those responsibilities are based on providing learners with an educative and challenging environment where curiosity is awakened, intrinsic motivation and active/collaborative learning (the co-construction of meaning) are evident, and the greater connection comes from critical analysis and reflection on both the students’ personal experiences and the course content.
Additional Instructor Notes:
As a learning community, knowledge acquisition and the co-creation of meaning heavily relies on each person’s attendance and engagement in the course work and discussion. I do not view myself as the “knower” of information who lectures as a “sage on a stage.” Rather, I take on the role of a facilitator, a “guide on the side” that encourages students to pull from their own and others’ lived experience to interpret course materials and co-create meaning. This compliments my personal teaching philosophy as well as the CSP Program mission, goals, and outcomes.