Assistant Professor
PhD. University of Georgia, Athens, GA

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Teaching Philosophy
To teach means to believe that one can make a difference. A teacher can make a difference by creating an intellectually challenging environment, in which students are active participants and discoverers of new knowledge, rather than fact-memorizing slaves and passive recipients of rules and grades. Students should leave school with feelings of increased self-esteem, accomplishment, and the ability to look at the world critically and analytically with increased curiosity.

What are the objectives of my teaching?
I strive to help my students achieve their goals, as well as to set their goals. I strive to guide them to embrace learning as a natural lifelong process, to reinforce a notion that education is the key to a successful and meaningful life. I encourage students' natural curiosity and assist them to gain a broad-based view of how the world works (as opposed to isolated bits and pieces of factual knowledge). I make an effort to foster logical and creative thinking that will serve students beyond the classroom, to make them aware of current scientific questions and their social implications, to promote scientific literacy, to become better citizens.

How do I achieve my goals as a teacher?
A solid understanding of the subject is a prime prerequisite of successful teaching. To gain the respect of the students, I must demonstrate that I have something valuable to teach them. A good teacher needs to have a firm grasp of the material covered in the class, beyond the scope of the textbook, as well as pedagogical knowledge. This knowledge should stem from one’s research, reading, participating in professional meetings, workshops and the active exchange of knowledge between colleagues.

One of the biggest challenges is to motivate students to learn. In this respect, the most important tenets are the teacher’s enthusiasm and making the subject matter relevant. Together with the knowledge, the teacher’s enthusiasm is the best way to generate interest in students. I have observed that my enthusiasm for the subject matter and for learning in general is contagious, and it provides much of the students' motivation. Motivation of students can be generated if I as a teacher take personal interest in students and demonstrate that they, too, have things to teach me. In addition, to keep students interested, the subject matter must be relevant to their interests, to their lives, to the world outside of the classroom. The first day of class is most critical to draw students' interest. I have adopted a strategy of one of my former professors who begins the introduction of an undergraduate Evolutionary Biology course, (typically attended by more than 150 students), not by the usual review of the syllabus, rules, grading, and attendance policy. Instead, he provides an overview of the history of HIV, its biology, introduction to the US and its spread, our attempt to find a vaccine, explains why some treatments are more successful than others or why some people are affected more than others. Students are immediately drawn in without any suspicion that they are learning the basic laws of population genetics, natural selection and adaptation or about the use of molecular markers to reveal history of a disease. Only then, is this group of captivated students presented with the syllabus and logistics of the class. They leave excited to come back to learn more.

In the classroom, I have adopted one of the oldest approaches to keep students actively involved: the Socratic method. Although hardly novel, this teaching tactic is powerful in fostering critical thinking. It allows one to develop engaging ways of presenting material and retains the students' curiosity. While continually inquiring into the subject, I can question goals and purposes, inquire whether we have relevant data and information, examine the assumptions made, consider alternative points of view, ask questions to trace implications and consequences of what students are saying. Although this approach may be challenging to a teacher who needs to prepare stimulating questions and be prepared to think on "one's feet" when dialogue moves into an unexpected direction, it does keep students involved. For me as a teacher, it allows continuous insights into student views, their attitude in the class, and provides feedback as to what understanding the students are gaining.

While Socratic teaching promotes critical thinking in the form of discussions, the importance of writing as a tool to practice critical thinking cannot be understated. I base my teaching on the belief that the best way to teach science is to do science. While the process of taking notes combined with class discussion is valuable, the real learning process comes through one's own effort, problem solving and writing. My responsibility is to provide a framework in which learning can take place. I often assign problem sets based on recently published studies. In all classes, no matter what the subject, writing is an essential part of the course. I encourage students to hand in outlines and rough drafts. It really doesn't matter how much factual knowledge students possess if they can't use it to solve problems and communicate ideas effectively.

What I believe constitutes effective teaching is derived from my experiences and expectations as a student and as a teacher, and it is continuously evolving. I have come to realize that students will ultimately learn what we examine. If we test facts, they will learn facts, soon to be forgotten. I aim to teach students how to use tools and resources to acquire further information - particularly important in any rapidly growing field. I still have much to learn about teaching, but I will always view the essence of teaching as mutual learning – the best way to learn is to teach. I teach students. I teach myself.

gonzaleseb@appstate.edu