The mind is not a vessel to be filled,  

but a fire to be kindled. Plutarch

 

Learning is a dynamic process. I believe that learning takes place because two parties contribute to it: me as an instructor and my students as learners. My role as an instructor is not only to explain the planned material efficiently and in a timely fashion, but also to inspire my students to participate with interest in our classroom discussions and to learn more on the related topics. The students’ role is to be active learners and to never give up in their journey. From the very first class I communicate to my students that I am always available and ready to help them whether in class or during one-on-one meetings.

 

In addition to inspiring and supporting my students I also try to motivate them as motivation helps to stimulate the learning process. I have different tactics to motivate students such as introducing various classroom activities, finding an accessible way to explain even complex phenomena, and preparing interesting and up-to-date facts on the topics discussed in class. I motivate my students because I love my subject matter and my students reward me with their progressive success in learning.

 

I am well aware that learning is a demanding task. Therefore, in order to help my students in this task, I structure my classes according to the scaffolding principle based on the notion of ZPD (zone of proximal development). According to this principle, new knowledge is built on already assimilated information and less difficult tasks are followed by more advanced ones; the amount and intensity of instructor’s guidance is modified based on students’ progress and is directed towards developing students’ independent problem solving skills.

 

For me it is also important to make sure that my students assimilate information efficiently and effectively. Efficient and effective learning means that the efforts we spend on covering new material or reviewing what has already been learned should be proportionate to the results my students achieve in both short-term (e.g. when we finish a topic) and long-term (e.g. when we finish the course or when they take a course on a more advanced level) perspectives. For this purpose, instead of insisting on memorizing material, I make certain that my students understand how a particular phenomenon functions by using abundant examples.

 

I evaluate my students’ success by using various kinds of tasks for testing, including: multiple choice assignments, quizzes, open-ended questions, and creative individual or group projects. The variety of exercises helps to assess students’ performance in the course more accurately since students may perform differently depending on the type of task.

 

To make my classes more interesting and to facilitate the learning process, I use audio-visual aids such as short videos, graphics, digital snapshots, tables, and radio podcasts. Using audio-visual aids helps to stir my students’ interest and allows them to learn new concepts through direct experience. Information presented in this way contributes to better dynamics of learning and increases the possibility that my students will be able to use this information in their further studies or professional careers, including academia.

 

Finally, I strongly believe that an important prerequisite of successful learning is having a comfortable atmosphere in class. Therefore, I create a friendly and respectful atmosphere in all my classes encouraging my students to exchange their ideas and to acquire new knowledge by asking questions, contributing to discussions, and participating in other types of classroom activities.

 

To recapitulate, learning is an intensive process. My most important role as an instructor is not only to explain various notions and situations pertinent to my discipline and the course objectives, but also to make every effort to help, inspire, and motivate my students as well as to create a friendly and respectful atmosphere for them to be able to learn efficiently and effectively. I want my students to learn from our classes and to be able to use their knowledge in their future studies and professional careers.