To teach someone is one of the highest forms of service one can render.  A person’s knowledge greatly influences who that person is and shapes their values and morals.  For one to teach requires the teacher to share a part of who they have become.  Teaching is a great responsibility the teacher should treat this responsibility with the respect that it deserves.  Teaching requires a relationship to be developed between the instructor and individual students as well as for a working relationship to develop between students.  The instructor is responsible for fostering both of these relationships.  As an instructor I strive to fully involve my students in the learning process through real life application, engaging instruction and assignments, and through creating an open and enriching classroom experience.

                In the classroom I find it extremely important to give students the chance to actually give students an opportunity to apply the knowledge they are gaining.  Sharing knowledge with students is the first step, but giving students the opportunity to think for themselves and actually apply the knowledge affords the student capability to take the knowledge to a greater depth.  Through the application of learned materials students can better understand the relevance of their education in the real world.  This application can come in a variety of ways, but it is very important for the application to actually be relevant to the individual students.  This requires the teacher to as much as possible know and understand the needs of each group of students.  I am a very open teacher and encourage students to fully utilize office hours or time during class for one on one help and instruction if additional attention is needed.

                As students are provided an opportunity for application I strive to keep in mind that all students learn differently and work to provide variety both with in class and out of class assignments.  This not only caters to the individual learning styles of different students but also gives students the opportunity to stretch themselves and possibly develop new skills and a new appreciation for the variety of skills they may develop.  In my experience, variety also helps to prevent students from becoming too routine and even lazy in their studies.  Even the slightest variation in the style of instruction, assignment, or activity forces students to think things through in an alternative matter and to more fully engage. 

                By offering variety in my instruction as much as possible I try to involve all students through-out the actual instruction time.  Personally, coming from a liberal arts background where discussion and analysis are both integral components of education, I try and carry this same idea to the classroom where I teach.  As students discuss the ideas and use skills they are learning all parties benefit.  In order for this to be most effective the instructor must create an environment where students feel comfortable expressing ideas and opinions without feeling inhibited by fear of disrespect of the instructor or peers.  As an instructor I truly strive to create a classroom environment where discussion and idea swapping is a regular part of classroom instruction time.   Likewise, as an instructor I ensure that respect of all opinions and ideas is an absolute expectation in my classroom.  A teacher’s responsibility is not only to impart knowledge upon her students, but also to create and maintain a safe environment that is conducive to students learning from each other and even learning more about themselves.  Whether in a traditional classroom or in an online environment a comfortable and effective classroom filled with exploration of students is an absolute priority to me as an instructor.

                In addition to creating a classroom experience that is comfortable for learning while maintaining a high level of respect, it is also majorly important to have well thought out and appropriate methods of evaluation to ensure that students are learning the materials.  Evaluation can come in methods other than tests.  While at times tests and quizzes may be the most appropriate methods of evaluation,  project that combines multiple skills or concepts taught in class with more real world application may be a more appropriate and meaningful method of evaluation.  Also, I am strong believer in constant evaluation.  This is closely related to my ideas that the classroom should be a place for discussion and sharing.  Waiting until the end of a course to administer one large all-encompassing test as the only form of evaluation defeats the purpose of assessing the students learning.  This should be done frequently throughout the course both through formal assignments and informal discussion and should guide and sometimes may alter the course of instruction.

                Overall, the students are the reasons that teachers teach.  I am a student centered teacher and strongly believe in listening to the students and teaching them the things that they are seeking to learn within boundaries appropriate to the course.  When offering instruction I delve deep into a topic and give students and understanding and attempt to get students thinking in news ways which will enable to discover why things happen or are done a certain way.  Providing real world application and meaningful varied instruction I feel I am able to connect with students and teach them on an effective level where they are also discovering for themselves and making their own connections and realizations.