Teaching Philosophy

Introduction

I primarily teach in the area of digital media art and technology with an emphasis in interactive media and game design. While it is important for me to be expert in the subject matter I teach, most of my students will not learn from me simply orating at the lectern. My goal as a teacher is to motivate my students and create a structured learning environment that actively engages them in the subject matter. In that sense, I am a guide, coach, and mentor more than the proverbial “sage on the stage.”

Teaching Goals and Strategies

1. Blending Theory and Practice. Digital media art and technology is in constant rapid change. The industry standard tools and technologies today will be obsolete tomorrow. While an understanding of today’s tools and technologies is important to migrate to tomorrows, students must also understand what underlies these tools and technologies, such as visual design principles, software engineering principles, and the psychology of how humans think and act. It is imperative for the students to understand both theory and practice.
   
   
2. Discussions, demonstrations, and doing are tightly interweaved throughout the course. I blend theory and practice throughout my courses, in both classroom and computer lab settings. There is no “lecture” and “lab” in my classes in the traditional sense, just different environments in which we can explore the given subject matter.
   
   
3. Everyone is viewed as an instructor. Digital media design is highly interdisciplinary and this fact is usually represented in the make up of the students in my courses. I try to create an environment in the classroom where students can learn from one another and work together to achieve success. This is done through a combination of peer review, team projects, and classroom discussion.
   
   
4. Learning how to learn is the most important skill to learn. To learn how to learn, people need to be challenged. They need to break out of their comfort zone. In my courses, I generally cater to the upper-third of my students. This creates a culture in the classroom that challenges the upper-third to achieve while, in most cases, motivates the other two-thirds to raise the bar and adapt quickly to changing situations.
   
   
5. The next most important skills to learn are communication and teamwork. Every time I speak with folks in industry, they say the skills that are often lacking in new employees are good communication and teamwork skills. These skills are essential in the area of digital media design. Every course I teach includes group project work. In most cases, I design assignments that require students to take on individual roles and responsibilities parallel to industry roles, such as manager, programmer, artist, designer, etc., and then work together to achieve the larger project goals. They must communicate with their teammates, as well as members of other teams in similar roles, and of course with the client, which in most cases is the instructor (me).
   
   
6. The proof is in the pudding. I generally do not use exams in my courses. While I often include quizzes to encourage keeping up with reading assignments, the majority of the grade in my courses is based around project work. To do truly well on a project, the student must master both the theory and practice and combine them into a cohesive product that demonstrates ultimate understanding.
   
   
7. Hard work leads to self-fulfillment and gratification, not just a good grade. When I was going through school, I always felt cheated by the courses that simply ended in a final exam. I took the exam, did well (or not), and that was that. The courses that were project-based were a different story. If I put a lot of work into a project, I often left the course with an extreme sense of self-fulfillment and gratification. “I made that!” Further, unlike the test, the project had a life beyond the course. I could demonstrate it to friends, family, and employers, I could put it in my portfolio, and I could refer to it when I embarked on future projects. This is the approach I bring to my courses.
   
   
8. Creativity is encouraged rather than looked down upon. Creative thinking and problem solving are paramount for success, maybe not in one's first or second job, but in your overall career. Without creativity, there is no innovation. While creativity is difficult to teach, I try to encourage creative thinking by integrating brainstorming activities and creative challenges into the classroom. To encourage creativity in assignments, I provide an example structure students can follow, but encourage them to deviate and “paint outside of the lines” as long as they are meeting the goals and objectives of the assignment. If they feel the goals and objectives are not valuable to them, they can even work with me to define alternative goals and objectives.
   
   
9. Passion and excitement about the subject matter is a must! I am passionate and excited about the subject matter and I try to pass this on to my students through the way I communicate in class to the students and about the subject matter.
   
   
10. You define what you want to get out of the course. This has two facets. First, while I act as a guide, coach, and mentor to the students; the students have a responsibility too. They must show up, they must want to learn, and they must put forth effort to do so. Second, every student has a different background and starting point when they come to my class. It does not matter if they are a novice or an expert in a given subject matter, they can get something out of the experience, be it enhanced knowledge, an alternative approach, experience communicating with others, or even how they might teach (or not teach) this subject matter in the future if given a chance. I communicate this up front in my courses and reiterate this several times throughout the semester. I feel it is an important philosophy in life, as well.
    
    
11. Fostering mutual respect in the classroom. It is important for me to foster a classroom environment of respect. This includes not only respect for each others backgrounds, respect for each others time, respect for each others thoughts, and respect for each others performance in the classroom but also respect for the subject matter itself and respect for the process of learning.