The central theme of my teaching philosophy is the promotion of higher order thinking skills through guided and active engagement in the class material. As an educator, I want my students to be challenged by the course content. I want them to evaluate the underlying constructs of an idea and to learn to develop their own empirically supported opinions on central issues in the field of psychology. My passion for the field of psychology and specifically developmental disabilities is the driving force behind my class design. Students in my Seminar in Developmental Disabilities should feel free to ask, challenge, debate, criticize, embrace, and explore varied aspects of psychology and be ready to apply what they learn to the field of developmental disabilities and public policy. Although teaching self-evaluation and analytical skills can be a formidable task, a class that encourages students to ask questions targets the foundation of critical thinking. Thus, students in my class not only learn relevant content, but they also learn to understand, apply, analyze, and evaluate research and public policies.

 

Understand

 

     Students in my class build a foundation within the subject matter throughout the semester that will serve as the basis for their analytic critiques of public policy as it relates to individuals with developmental disabilities. This is essential, as a core understanding of the predominant issues faced by individuals with disabilities is a prerequisite to challenging current educational and occupational policies. Students’ knowledge of the material is assessed through in class quizzes and embedded assessment such as in class assignments ranging from quick clicker polls to written reactions on course material. Students examine seminal research, recognize key issues, discuss in depth the challenges faced by individuals with developmental disabilities, and describe the long-term outcomes of public policy regulations.

 

Apply

    

     To create opportunities for students to apply higher order thinking, I facilitate interaction within the population of interest. Throughout the semester, students choose a service-learning site that is related to developmental disabilities and/or public policy reform. Service-learning is a powerful resource for optimizing student engagement and retention of course material as students are actively involved in the population or setting being studied. This approach is highly conducive to learning the material that I teach as students will experience firsthand the unique perspectives of individuals with developmental disabilities which will directly inform their views of public policy. Weekly writing assignments administered online encourage students to critically think about their service-learning experience, demonstrate mastery of the material discussed in class, and answer thought-provoking questions about the disabled community.

 

Analyze

    

     I regularly promote in class discussion based on assigned readings and controversial topics. Additionally, I facilitate in-class activities such as case studies and small group discussion to help guide students to assess the issues raised in my classes. To exemplify learning, students present a lecture or write a paper critiquing current or proposed public policy changes and the impact these changes would have on the disabled community as a whole. By the end of the course, students should be able to examine prominent concerns for the disabled community, question the policies in place and the impact of those policies on the lives of these individuals, and advocate for changes to policies that are detrimental to the disabled community in this country.

 

Evaluate

 

     Students in my class are expected to base all work on empirically supported positions rather than preconceived ideas. To accomplish this, I provide students with empirical sources supporting various topics and arguments on a regular basis and require students to debate the merits of each argument. As a class we appraise constructs and collectively work toward a consensus. We practice this process several times throughout the semester. Students are frequently asked to critique policies and defend their positions through in class reading reactions and discussion. The goal is to facilitate the development of strong evaluation skills which are essential building blocks of critical thinking.

 

     My passion for teaching stems from a desire to motivate students to engage in real-world applications of their knowledge. I want students to learn to critically evaluate a policy or system and formulate possible alternatives. It is far more important to me as an educator that students become passionate about learning and begin to think in terms of higher-order concepts within the field of psychology rather than grades and testing. I would rather have a student adamantly disagree with a concept discussed in class than have a student passively agree and memorize the concept blindly. My long-term goal as an educator is to foster the intrinsic motivation of students rather than the extrinsic, grade based motivation that many students within the current educational system develop.