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Running Head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

Personal Philosophy of Teaching

Lois A. Pessolano Ehrmann MA, LPC, ACS, CAC/CCS-Diplomate

Doctoral Candidate in Counselor Education/ Rehabilitation Services

The Pennsylvania State University

Personal Philosophy of Teaching

Introduction

In today’s academic arena, there are many different terms used to describe those who have the responsibility to transmit knowledge to other human beings. Nouns such as educator, trainer, teacher, supervisor, mentor, facilitator, professor, instructor, and monitor are just a few of the labels used to distinguish individuals who teach from those who do not. Sometimes these descriptors are used interchangeably, although I believe that the particular label an individual chooses for him or herself in the role of teacher provides hints or clues to others about the philosophy of teaching that person possesses. This paper is an attempt to clarify the words that I choose to describe myself when communicating with others who I teach.

First I will elaborate on the particular labels related to teaching roles that I feel most comfortable with and I will clarify my personal teaching philosophy including the values that I have adopted as part of this philosophy. After discussing each particular label or role I will present my thoughts and feelings regarding my involvement in that role during my teaching internship (Spring 2004) and subsequent courses that I have taught in Rehabilitation Services (REHAB 412: Rehabilitation Settings and Programs; REHAB 413: Case Management and Case Recording) and Counselor Education (Cn Ed. 416: Interpersonal Relationships with Persons with Alcohol and Other Drug Problems). Then I will discuss what I see as my strengths or weaknesses as a counselor educator and what I strive to improve upon as I continue my teaching career. Finally I will end with some concluding remarks regarding my teaching experiences and the impact those experiences have had on me.

Teacher as Facilitator

As I look over the gamut of words used above that relate to the responsibilities and actions of teaching, I find myself attracted more to some then to others. I feel most comfortable with the label ‘facilitator’ because this aspect of teaching fits well with my philosophy. When I am involved in the actions of supervising, training, or teaching, I see my main role as one of a facilitator. I am responsible for the presentation of material in a cohesive and comprehensible manner and, through the methodology I choose in the presentation of the material, I hope to facilitate learning in my students. Therefore I need to truly understand the material or data to be presented and I need to enable the students to internalize that material.

My responsibility in this matter goes beyond having a solid understanding of the information. I also have to be aware and understand that all of the students I work with are unique individuals that may have varying styles of learning. I need to be aware that there are intelligences that are different then the cognitive achievement domains measured by the Stanford-Binet IQ test (Gardener, 1993). I believe I have a responsibility within the academic arena to have a working knowledge of visual versus kinesthetic versus auditory styles, as well as an awareness of the ways that students can shine that are not solely dependent on cognitive prowess. Therefore as I teach, I need to make sure that I utilize all the modalities that learners could possibly possess, and I need to provide experiences for creativity of thought and imagination, as well as tests or evaluations that give students opportunities to show their cognitive and memory retention skills.

As I reflect on the teaching experiences I’ve had up to this date, I remain most comfortable with my role in teaching as a facilitator. I felt comfortable pulling together different topics and presenting them in ways that hopefully stimulated student thought processes. I was able to facilitate numerous discussions where class participants felt that they could express differing opinions and have the freedom to further explore their ideas. Consequently I believe that students have been stretched as a result of my facilitation skills and activities. There were times when I felt disappointed while presenting because students did not seem to be engaged fully with me on the topic. When this happened I knew I needed to quickly get a sense of what was going on for them in the process of learning. At times students indicated that they felt the material was too difficult and at other times they indicated that the amount of material was overwhelming. In my facilitative function, I felt it was my responsibility to do the best that I could to adjust to the appropriate levels of difficulty and quantity so that the learning experience would remain positive for students.

Some students did not attend classes as they should have. I could have taken this personally but did not. I recollect that McKeachie (2002) makes a clear distinction between the responsibility for the teaching and responsibility for the learning in the classroom. I knew that I was responsible for the facilitation of the presentation of class material and I did so to the very best of my abilities. I felt pretty clear that the responsibility for the learning of the material belonged to the students.

Gatekeeper Responsibility

All professionals in education have a responsibility to their students to instruct and teach in a manner that assists students in gaining knowledge and skills that will help the individual develop and grow in a positive way. Counselor Educators have this responsibility as well but they also share an additional burden. Our field trains individuals to be professional helpers to other human beings who may be the most vulnerable individuals in our nation or society. This means that students under our tutiledge not only have to learn the skills of professional helping but they have to receive guidance on how to be the healthiest and most well rounded individuals possible. The reason for this is that unhealthy professional helpers put clients in need at potential risk for harm. As educators in this area we need to make sure that the students who are training to be professional helpers who assist others, are healthy and stable themselves. This becomes an awesome responsibility for Counselor Educators because this clearly means that they are the gatekeepers of the field.

Counselor Educators are called to evaluate the health of trainees in order to assure the aspirational ethics (Kitchner, 1984; Meara, Schmidt, & Day, 1996) of beneficence (always work in the best interests of the client) and nonmaleficence (do no harm) are present in their students as they prepare to leave the training environment to enter professional practice. In addition to personal health and counseling skill development, Counselor Educators have a responsibility to make sure their students and trainees are competent in multicultural counseling skills (Arredondo, 1999). When trainees and professionals in the counseling field do not have competency in multicultural issues they do not fulfill the field’s ethics of beneficence and nonmaleficence. The aspirational ethic of justice (Meara et al., 1996) is also compromised.

In providing this gate keeping function as a counselor educator, I find it imperative to make sure that I clearly and strongly role model health and balance in my own life. If I am not healthy enough to monitor and screen myself in relation to health and balance then I am not in a position to monitor, support, and screen students who are counting on me to instruct and mentor them.

During my teaching experiences to date, I had a number of opportunities to act in the gatekeeper role. I manifested this role in a number of challenging ways. First I set up stable and consistent office hours and also offered to see students outside of the set schedule by appointment. During weeks where exams or special assignment were due I tried to set up extended office hour times in order to be even more accessible to students. When students came in for appointments or just to ask questions or for help, I did attempt to get to know them better and to increase my awareness of each person as a unique individual with unique learning styles and life experiences.

There were a few instances in the semester when students called on me to request assistance with the course due to illnesses or other life circumstances and I was able to assist them in problem solving and in moving through whatever barriers they were attempting to overcome. In each of these experiences I used the teachable moment given to me in order to talk about self-care as a professional and the need to be the healthiest person one can be in order to be ethically helpful to future clients. I felt fairly comfortable in my role as a gatekeeper during these moments most likely because these interactions are not very different then the interactions I have more intensely on a daily basis with my clients. I had to be careful however to make sure that I kept clear the boundary between being a helpful instructor to a student versus a counselor ministering to emotional needs of clients.

Full awareness of this boundary was very important because there were numerous situations during my past teaching experiences where I sensed students were struggling with serious emotional or personal issues outside the parameters of the course I was teaching. When they opened up to me I listened carefully to them and honored their experiences and feelings and then formally referred them to supportive and helpful resources at the university or the community. During these interactions I felt honored to have been so trusted by them.

Finally my gate-keeping role as an evaluator of students’ performance levels was one that I conducted whenever I composed and graded exams or other learning assignments. I was nervous about the evaluation aspect when I first started teaching on the university level. I had much experience as a professional trainer but in that type of training the presenter gets evaluated and not the participants. I became calmer with each experience I had in the evaluation process. After giving exams in my courses, I see many students in my office because I always offer to go over exams with them individually so they can get personal feedback that might be of help to them. I do know that even though I do not act in the role of counselor during these times with students, I use the very best of my counseling skills. Students sometimes are sad, confused, tearful, discouraged and even angry about their grades or performance. At these tough moments my policy is to listen reflectively and to give students my utmost respect and positive regard for them. Then I try my best to help problem solve with them so that they will be more successful in their future assignments and future exams.

One policy that I have instituted in my courses has to do with writing quality. I have come across many students who have serious difficulty with expression of the written word. I found myself, in reading numerous papers of really appreciating the thought and genuineness of students’ reflections but the mechanics of grammar, spelling, and sentence structure truly challenged some students. I want students to learn to write well because writing becomes a reflection of the level of professionalism in a professional helper in the work place. Therefore I give students the chance to remediate their written assignments as long as they prove that they have gone to the university writing center to get some tutoring.

In addition I have also taught some students some specific study skills to help with future exams. I want all of my students to do well and become the best professional helpers they can be. I recognize though that improvement is a process and I am more interested in seeing my students strive to learn, while growing in awareness of the processes of self- evaluation and personal challenge. For these reasons I also incorporate many in-class activities in the courses that I teach that do not involve grades but that do challenge and stretch students to move beyond.

Strengths and Weaknesses as a Counselor Educator

I have been a professional counselor for many years and I believe in the values of my field. I think this is a strength as a counselor educator, not because I have all the skills down pat (I don’t) or because I engage in the helping process as a perfect counselor (I’m not). The benefit to the student from my perspective is because of the journey I have taken both personally and professionally in the field. My willingness to share parts of my journey and my honesty about times that were less then noble or helpful can be used to assist trainees in developing clarity, self-reflection, and healthy conceptualization skills. I care deeply for the profession and my time served shows that commitment. Caring deeply for the profession translates also then to caring deeply for the individuals who feel called into the field as well. My beliefs about the goodness and effectiveness of professional helping are at the core of my value of mentoring. I appreciate opportunities to mentor others who are journeying in the profession and I have been told that God has particularly blessed me in mentoring ability.

In my first semester of teaching I was able to take part in the Schreyers Program of College Teaching Excellence. This noncredit course was one of the best educational experiences that I have ever had and as a part of the course there were a few activities that assisted me greatly in fine- tuning my abilities as a teacher. One of the required activities that I had to do was collect mid-semester feedback on my teaching skills. Attached is a copy of the relative strengths and weaknesses and my brief self-evaluation of the results but in general students saw my strengths as the following:

openness, welcoming, friendly and accessible, encouraging of students’ thoughts and opinions, enthusiastic and positive. I believe that with these strengths, I have been able to promote a positive learning environment for the students.

I have some weaknesses too. Evaluation of people is not easy for me. I know doing so is necessary for the individual’s development and growth and also to honor the ethic of beneficence for the clients who are in our care. I do evaluate people and have done so for a number of years but I still do not really like it. I have become more comfortable as I increased my experience in this aspect of the role of educational facilitator and I am grateful for that.

Another weakness I have is called workaholism. I clearly am a high achiever and have high expectation of myself. I have learned to be more balanced and less obsessive about my performance and work but I clearly enjoy doing a good job on tasks. Depending on the setting this character defect results in various levels of reinforcement. Clearly at Counseling Alternatives Group and within my graduate program of study, these traits are affirmed and celebrated. Clearly in my home and personal life they are not. I work quite hard to keep my priorities strait and maintain some sense of balance although there are still times my priorities get lopsided.

Conclusion

I bring to the teaching role a number of values and philosophical beliefs. These values and beliefs are pertinent to me as a person and not only in my roles of professional counselor or educator/facilitator. I believe in practicing what I preach and in being in touch with my own human fragility. Doing so helps me to be approachable by others and role models health as a professional in human services. I understand and appreciate the awesome responsibility I have to students who count on me to transmit important knowledge and skills to them. Having a clear sense of this responsibility helps me to be cognizant of students’ unique learning styles and personal characteristics. I feel the spiritual call to be a gatekeeper in the field in order to promote the protection of our clients who count on us to help in their transformative healing. Keeping in touch with this pushes me to gain the experience and knowledge needed in order to conduct ethical and effective gatekeeping evaluations, educational presentations, and clinical activities.

In ending let me say that although my teaching experiences have been challenging to me they have been experiences of great worth as well. I felt stimulated, affirmed, and stretched as an individual and professional within the field. Even in the experiences that were not very pleasant, I learned much more then I expected I ever would. While I did see this activity as one that had a burdensome responsibility in the protection and development of professionalism in the rehabilitation field, I now have the confidence and knowledge that I can do the tasks at hand. In addition, through out all of these teaching experiences, I am ever so grateful that I had a mentor who gave me the freedom I needed to grow and take important risks while at the same time provided me with the support and foundations I needed to be truly successful.

References

Arredondo, P. (1999). Multicultural counseling competencies as tools to address

oppression and racism. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 102-108.

Gardener, H. (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The Theory and Practice. New York: Basic

Books.

Kitchener, K. (1984). Intuition, critical evaluation and ethical principles. The Counseling

Psychologist, 12, 43-55.

Meara, N., Schmidt, L., & Day, J. (1996). Principles and virtues: A foundation for ethical

decisions, policies, and character. The Counseling Psychologist, 24, 4-77.

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