Teaching is part of a life-long learning process. For effective teaching, teachers must be good learners. This certificate program in college teaching provided me with many opportunities to think about my teaching career. In this section of my teaching ePortfolio, I will answer several questions regarding teaching, ePortfolio, and the certificate program.
What was the most striking or surprising thing you learned about yourself and about teaching as you developed your ePortfolio? Through the ePortofolio development process, I realized that teaching is one of the most difficult activities I will perform in my life. Knowing or understanding subjects does not necessarily mean I will be able to teach the subjects well. To enhance students’ learning, I must create an appropriate learning environment through various teaching strategies and presentation methods. There is no single best solution; I should continuously try new things and improve my teaching skills.
Based on the materials you wrote, what will be your greatest strength as a teacher? As I discussed in my teaching philosophy statement, I believe in the importance of repeated exposure to a subject. For “repeated exposure,” I should prepare well-organized class materials so students can recall previously taught materials easily. My greatest strength as a teacher is my organization skill. I will prepare very organized lesson plans and slides for my classes. In addition, I always like to explore new subjects – I am very flexible and will change my lesson plans if needed. I will continuously revise my teaching materials. This way, I can provide the most recent, updated information to students.
What will be your greatest challenge as a teacher?
Increasing students’ engagement is the greatest challenge as a teacher, especially in the basic lower-level courses. Many students may take such basic introductory courses without strong motivation. As a student, grades are