confidence I reworked my course to
reflect a number of strategies provided
by my colleagues, from the readings,
and from the presentations, including
an assignment that offered choice and
variety. As I utilized these strategies, I
found my students responded more
and were more engaged in their
learning.
between student and professor, but
also with fellow colleagues. These
relationships will encourage students to
take risks and aid in confidence
building. When students leave my
classroom, I not only want them to
have acquired necessary skills for
teaching in the real world, but have a
set of beliefs and values of teaching,
motivation for continuous learning,
enthusiasm for their students and
teaching, and confidence in themselves
as professionals.”
At the start of the training, we
had to devise a personal online
teaching philosophy. Being new to
online teaching, this was a difficult task
for me. However, as I thought about my
The COTL training helped me to
‘face-to-face’ teaching philosophy, I
accomplish this, and I feel I am a more
found that this certainly coincided with confident online instructor better
any kind of teaching, even online
prepared for the online community.
teaching. I found that the end goal was
the same—a philosophy where
collaboration, community building, and
engagement is paramount, and where
curriculum is learner-centered to meet
the needs of diverse learners:
“As a teacher educator I strive to ignite
in my students a passion for teaching
and life-long learning by creating an
environment full of enthusiasm, rich
ideas, and positive experiences and
relationships. I believe that teachers
who demonstrate passion and
enthusiasm about an area motivate
students to learn. In addition, building
positive relationships with students,
professional and personal, helps to gain
a sense of trust and respect not only
Ritsa Mallous, Adjunct Instructor ,
Education Programs, is a graduate
of the Certificate for Classroom
Teaching and Learning offered
through Academic Technologies.