The belief that an educator can play a crucial role in shaping students’ learning perspectives is the foundation of my pedagogical philosophy. The perseverance to make a positive impact, the dedicated passion to help others to reach their goals, and the ability to work hard to reach high standards are values instilled in me by all the wonderful educators in my life. Emulating the teaching styles of these role models has been one of my tenets to create an engaging learning environment in my classroom. My teaching philosophy has also been shaped by my own unique experiences, teaching English 150 and 250, and understanding students’ diverse learning goals. I know that I am dedicated to maximizing the learning potentials of my students. I would like to be a model for others with whom I could share the experiences of my journey and thus inspire them to take a nurturing role in building a community of enthusiastic learners by creating inclusive classrooms, scaffolding activities, innovative teaching methods, classroom materials tailored to fit diverse needs of learners, and by providing them guidance at every level as needed.

Every novice teacher has some initial apprehensions of gaining the trust and confidence of their students. Nevertheless, from my experience, being open and transparent paves success in building the initial relationships based on expectations. Using my classroom as an open, inviting, and a safe learning space for all students, I believe I always gain new ideas, and learn novel strategies in teaching. Letting students know that the classroom is an environment where even the instructor is engaged in the learning process, encourages them to participate in class. Additionally, when they know I will be always guiding them and sharing my knowledge and resources to help them improve their skills, I can sense the comfort they feel to connect with me. Assuring them that each voice and opinion in the classroom will be valued, provided they are respectful and courteous to others, I am able to create the warmth needed to foster invigorating discussions and conversations that are conducive to learning.

Besides building a rapport with learners, understanding students’ individual learning needs is crucial for creating a thriving culture in the classroom. From my experience, I can assert that every student has a different learning goal. Not all students in my English class specialize in one discipline and this may inhibit some from participating in group activities. They may either not have an interest to participate in some activities that involve focused writing or speaking. I find scaffolding activities help in that regard. Creating guiding questions and encouraging them to work with a peer to answer those questions can be less intimidating for students. The use of scaffolding assignments facilitates them to get familiar with the required terminology. As they gain confidence, I encourage them to work in small groups of three-four. Assigning tasks that engage them in co-operative work initially creates a bonding team spirit and later I see their creativity spark as they are challenged with higher-order skills.

The success of a teacher also lies in being flexible and changing the dynamics of the classroom to engage students by finding innovative methods. Repeating mundane activities can create boredom, and students may lose interest in classroom lessons. I believe that learning should be fun, and teachers should be able to inculcate interests in students using creative ways to enthuse them. They should find innovative ways that harnesses students’ strengths and cultivate their interests. While teaching English 150 and 250, I design activities that encourage students to be creative and use their imaginations and acquired skills to demonstrate their understanding of the readings. Even creating small group tournaments engenders enthusiasm and team spirit in the classroom. One of the activities, I find particularly useful for teaching the concept of “Fallacies of Arguments” is helping students to work collaboratively with their team members to come up with creative ideas to demonstrate understanding of the concepts. To my amazement, students go way beyond my expectations, collaborate outside the classroom, and present their creations to their peers in a multitude of ways: digital storybooks, movie clips, short skit presentations in class, or cartoon illustrations. I feel accomplished as a teacher when I see them talk zealously about their creations, and I can see them incorporate the concepts in their rhetorical analysis assignments (English 250) as well. Smiles start replacing yawns, when I integrate these activities in my early morning classes.

Classroom materials also need to be reviewed and evaluated to ensure they are appropriately engaging for all students. Before the start of every semester, I reflect on the use of materials, and add or change curated readings after reflecting on the semester as a whole. It takes time for the whole process, but I believe a good teacher should take strides to constantly make adaptations to make the classroom more inclusive. Moving from a theme-based textbook focused on language to a textbook that is suitable for a wider audience, I have seen how discussions in my classrooms have come to life as students are able to share more narrative anecdotes connecting their experiences to the readings and bring interesting perspectives on varied topics.

Not only making the materials engaging but identifying ways for learners to reflect on their communication and providing them valuable feedback suggestions is equally important for sparking students’ interests in learning. In my opinion, feedback should be an ongoing dialogue between teachers and their students. Not just constructive criticism, but also identifying strengths in students’ communication processes is significant. I have always been able to see strengths in all my students’ work. Doing this, elevates students’ confidence and motivates them to work on improving other things. First identifying their strengths and then pointing to the areas that need improvement has been one successful strategy for me to make students read their feedback on papers. Students know that they count on me for additional guidance. At the end of the semester, reading students’ evaluations in their ePortfolios or surveys brings me immense satisfaction. Comments like, “I have really enjoyed the class, even though I use to hate English class..” make me feel accomplished as a teacher, knowing that I was able to devote my time to bring a positive attitude and change in their learning perspectives.

All these changes that I see in my students are immensely encouraging and gratifying and I hope to continue this journey of bringing positivity because to me education is wealth and I would like to spread its power through my deterministic efforts and dedication. In my opinion, we never cease to learn, and there are always opportunities to grow and shape ourselves. I think I am also blessed to be at the receiving end, when I get to learn a few new strategies from my students. It’s a wonderful mutual process of learning. I hope to continue on this path, sharing my knowledge with others, guiding others through innovative methods of teaching, finding unique qualities in every student to help them enjoy learning. The evaluation reports, class materials and observations reflect my consistent hard work and earning the Teaching Excellence Award has inspired me to continue this journey help others reach their potentials, and to spread the joys of learning to several others and elevate their learning experiences.