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Chemistry has challenging aspects as a course. Students are surrounded by numerous chemical reactions, spectroscopic methods, and keeping up with laboratory protocols and reports. This provides a challenging environment for students. Utilization of technology and a compassionate attitude towards the students will enable them to develop the skills required to tackle difficult concepts. There are several tools to help students digest information as well as clear up any ambiguity during lectures. Tools I utilize are the internet as well as multiple choice clickers. The technology of clickers to monitor the audience’s understanding of the lecture is an extremely useful and vital tool. Reading quizzes are also utilized to encourage preparation before lecture. To facilitate reading, I require students to read material before coming to class and answer a few questions based on the required reading. This helps ease the way to understanding challenging concepts by having students see the material ahead of time, and be able to ask pertinent questions during lecture. Additionally, I feel that it is important to not only teach the lecture portion, but also teach the laboratory classes to ensure that concepts discussed in class are applied; this will help reinforce what was being taught and why. My main desire is to connect what is in the textbook to hands-on experience, helping to solidify the terms and techniques outlined. Despite the students reading ahead and having me on-hand to answer questions, my greatest responsibility will be presenting new material in a well-structured manner to alleviate any additional confusion that new material can so easily bestow on our students. Respectful learning environments, whether in the classroom or in the laboratory, are extremely important. It is important to keep open lines of respectful, friendly communication. By creating an environment where questions are encouraged, students will hopefully be more inclined to talk about underlying concepts that initially seem overwhelming. In the end, I not only want my students to walk away understanding the underlying concepts, but also hope to give my students the ability to question what they read. Being able to trust ourselves and apply the knowledge we each obtain through life experiences is a very daunting task; it is a skill that only comes with time. By producing an environment that encourages questions, students will be empowered to get the most out of their education during this important time of development in their lives. Ultimately, I always want to steer students to becoming life-long learners. |
Dustin on the Pacific Coast Trail. Course objectives for courses always need to be clear and concise. This informs students of what is expected of them and what the class focuses on. Initially, students will assess themselves as to how they learn. (Test Your Learning Styles: http://www.cas.lsu.edu.) This information will not only be of use to themselves, but will also determine the structure of lectures for that semester (visual versus auditory learning styles) and the importance of the laboratory (tactile learning styles). Additionally, students will also be given an assessment exam at the beginning to help gauge and monitor their success throughout the course. With firm goals in mind and knowledge about where they stand, I plan to challenge students to their full potential. As individuals, we all have diverse backgrounds and interpret our environment differently; therefore, each student learns differently. Each individual has a variation on learning techniques developed by the student to help them digest new material. Students only learn by digesting new information at their own pace. This leads to difficulties keeping an entire class on the same page and can be frustrating for both instructors and students. I feel that I have the patience and compassion to embrace all learning styles to better accommodate the students that come through my classroom. I always strive to be understanding of my student’s situations and the respect I have for the subject matter as well as for the students is always conveyed through my actions. I will improve my class by eventually moving to criterion-referenced testing in which students are only competing with themselves and not each other. I feel that this too can create an environment lending itself to creating life-long learners. Assessing my class and the students will always be challenging. I feel that developing assessment tests for my class, the students, and even myself will always be a dynamic and never ending endeavor. —Dustin Nouri
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