My Teaching Philosophy

I believe that a nurturing learning environment is essential to achieving qualitative student learning outcomes. 

Students should feel safe and enabled to take risks when learning from and then reflecting on their own experiences. 

I strive to balance the pursuit of knowledge with an empathic understanding of skills acquisition and a mental attitude appropriate to engaging international learners in constructing a knowledge base that has meaning in their world. 

It is thus imperative that I continue to contribute to an educational setting that is stimulating and appropriate to accommodate multiple modes of expressive facilitator-student-facilitator and student-student interactions to engender a mutually creative learning ethos.  

This process also forms part of my learning cycle when providing guidance along the way. 

The importance of respecting the unique personality of each learner forms part of my modus operandi. 

I am aware that my students could (and some do) model their behavior along similar lines. 

Emanating from this comes the importance of demonstrating trust and respect. Thus, my professional involvement, governed by transparency, forms a communicative bridge to parents and students. 

Having grown up as a Third Culture Kid (TCK) [1] and raised third culture children, my innate compassion for international student development is another motivator towards self-actualization (c.f. Maslow). 

My experiences and acquisition of knowledge from both sides of the desk have taught me to appreciate that teaching and learning cycles are interdependent disciplines. [2]

As a people-person, I find that building rapport with students and stakeholders is relatively easy but is a conscious and core imperative in my approach. 

The subsequent reflections following student and parent interactions provide opportunities to address issues the “personality rub” and human frailty and this process, in turn, strengthens unconditional positive regard (c.f. Carl Rogers) for others and, of course, myself.
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[1] Pollock, D. C., & Reken, R. E. (2001). The third culture kids: the experience of growing up among worlds. Yarmouth, Me.: Intercultural Press.

[2] Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Everlove, S. (2009). Productive group work how to engage students, build teamwork, and promote understanding. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.