Teaching context and philosophy

My passion for teaching stems from a love for empowering students to take charge for their own learning with the aim of constructing links between topics and courses. This means developing authentic assessments which requires the use of foundational knowledge to be able to resolve practical and real issues in vision science and optometry. I am fortunate to be teaching into both the undergraduate and postgraduate program which means that I can monitor the output of assessments in building skills that are transferable to the learning needs across courses.

My teaching philosophy is centred around establishing a safe learning environment which delivers opportunities for students to have a voice and bring their questions and ideas to the table. Due to necessity, the last couple of years have seen an explosion of technology supporting online teaching and this has afforded me a greater opportunity to explore different access methods for facilitating student learning styles. I am an early adopter of initiatives which underpins the support mechanisms students require to reach their own goals.

In building my teaching philosophy, I have concentrated on 3 pedagogical questions:

1. What I need students to take away that is dependent on the subject matter - provision of essential knowledge.
2. What I want students to take away irrespective of the subject matter - a growth mindset and a social mindset.
3. How can I achieve the above - incorporating authentic assessments which integrates research and teaching, communication and collaboration skills.