Statement of Teaching Competency
Drawing from my teaching philosophy and using my teaching experience over the last few years I have identified some "core competencies" that are vital for good instruction. Through my teaching, I try to demonstrate the "core competencies" and I describe the same below.
Articulating appropriate course goals and objectives: I design a detailed course syllabus that highlights the "key" learning objectives of the course. These objectives describe the specific knowledge and skills the students are expected to accomplish from the course. I explain these objectives early in the semester which helps the students to follow through.
Organizing and designing the course with these goals and objectives in mind: I organize my syllabus such that it highlights the course goals specific to every chapter in the course. To this end, I try different pedagogical tools to foster the students’ learning outcomes specific to course objectives. I use active learning techniques like self-explanation to help students develop a stronghold on the foundational knowledge of economic concepts. I use daily quizzes to monitor student progress. My daily quizzes focus on the chapter-specific course objectives that students are expected to accomplish. To assess the critical thinking ability of students, I use case analysis that allows students to apply economic concepts learned from the class in solving real-world economic issues. To accurately assess each student's foundational knowledge and the application of that knowledge at the end of the semester, I use debate forums where students put forward their views on real-world economic issues which helps students become informed citizens.
Presenting material effectively and communicating with students in a variety of settings: The key to long-term retention of knowledge lies in the effectiveness of lectures by the instructor. I use interactive lectures to encourage class participation. Through the interactive lectures, students solve exercises in class based on the learning objective of the day's class. I use real-world examples when explaining an economic concept and I allow students to visualize through thought how they would respond based on the economic situation. I follow this practice because I believe the most effective way to conceptualize social science is to be actively present in society itself.
Providing feedback to students to give them clear messages about their performance in ways that will help them improve before the semester is over: Feedback allows students to identify their mistakes and improve on them to reach closer to course objectives. I believe proper feedback also provides students with the confidence to move forward in their knowledge accumulation. To this end, I provide feedback through solutions to practice sets, office hours, and review sessions. I hold review sessions to provide feedback on the student performance and help students to identify their room for improvement. I encourage students to schedule one-to-one office hours with me where I can exclusively provide feedback on the assignments for the students and help them in a better understanding of the course material. I post answer keys to all the practice exams and other assignments which allows students to get an idea of where they went wrong and what areas they need to pay more attention to.
Articulating appropriate course goals and objectives: I design a detailed course syllabus that highlights the "key" learning objectives of the course. These objectives describe the specific knowledge and skills the students are expected to accomplish from the course. I explain these objectives early in the semester which helps the students to follow through.
Organizing and designing the course with these goals and objectives in mind: I organize my syllabus such that it highlights the course goals specific to every chapter in the course. To this end, I try different pedagogical tools to foster the students’ learning outcomes specific to course objectives. I use active learning techniques like self-explanation to help students develop a stronghold on the foundational knowledge of economic concepts. I use daily quizzes to monitor student progress. My daily quizzes focus on the chapter-specific course objectives that students are expected to accomplish. To assess the critical thinking ability of students, I use case analysis that allows students to apply economic concepts learned from the class in solving real-world economic issues. To accurately assess each student's foundational knowledge and the application of that knowledge at the end of the semester, I use debate forums where students put forward their views on real-world economic issues which helps students become informed citizens.
Presenting material effectively and communicating with students in a variety of settings: The key to long-term retention of knowledge lies in the effectiveness of lectures by the instructor. I use interactive lectures to encourage class participation. Through the interactive lectures, students solve exercises in class based on the learning objective of the day's class. I use real-world examples when explaining an economic concept and I allow students to visualize through thought how they would respond based on the economic situation. I follow this practice because I believe the most effective way to conceptualize social science is to be actively present in society itself.
Providing feedback to students to give them clear messages about their performance in ways that will help them improve before the semester is over: Feedback allows students to identify their mistakes and improve on them to reach closer to course objectives. I believe proper feedback also provides students with the confidence to move forward in their knowledge accumulation. To this end, I provide feedback through solutions to practice sets, office hours, and review sessions. I hold review sessions to provide feedback on the student performance and help students to identify their room for improvement. I encourage students to schedule one-to-one office hours with me where I can exclusively provide feedback on the assignments for the students and help them in a better understanding of the course material. I post answer keys to all the practice exams and other assignments which allows students to get an idea of where they went wrong and what areas they need to pay more attention to.