Helen's Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is grounded in active participation, trust, and support. I want to create a community amongst students in the class where they can reach out to each other or myself for help in their academic writing, creative writing, or professional development. I want to create a comfortable learning environment that encourages students to ask questions and participate in class by being vocal or non-vocal. My teaching will include digital writing assignments for students to practice and play with new media technology. Many students come from diverse backgrounds, and I want to provide the opportunity for students to write in a blended class environment that opens up the opportunity for creative and reflective writing for the students. I want them to be able to apply their critical thinking and writing skills to the real world (for rhetorical purposes/situations). I want students to feel comfortable participating and writing online. It’s important to emphasize the impact and mark their participation causes and leaves. I want them to know they are the author(ity) of their writing and to accept challenges, questions, critique, and feedback as tools to strengthen their writing. As well as, to challenge questions, feedback, and comments from a traditional authority figure like a teacher. I want them to become aware of how the process of writing (has many layers), and that the process of writing and reading is not only to dig for information and state your opinion but to show how these tactics influence, entertain, persuade, manipulate an audience to the benefit of an author's goal.