Homework

1

Personal Philosophy of Teaching

Student Name

West Coast University

NURS 535: Principles of Teaching and Learning

Dr. Wyrick

Date

2

Personal Philosophy of Teaching

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the

service of others.” This has become my motto not just in my profession, but in every aspect of

my life. By serving others, I have learned more about myself in the process. As healthcare

professionals, we are not only patient advocates, but also researchers and educators for patients,

families, colleagues, and aspiring nurses. I believe that learning is a systematic procedure of

acquiring new knowledge, comprehension, skills, values, behaviors, attitudes, and preferences.

From the psychological perspective, learning focuses on a range of topics related to how people

conceive and interact with their environment. As a nursing instructor, learning can be used to

review students' progress examined through assignments, exams, and behavior alteration.

Teaching a specific subject can be seen as successful by constantly analyzing students'

performance and changing their perspectives on various concepts (Ruipérez-Valiente et al.,

2015). For instance, teaching on the benefits of therapy can be termed as well as archived by

assessing students through exams, which measures the level of comprehension and

understanding gained in the learning process.

From an educator perspective, I have realized that learning does not occur over a single

session. Instead, it is a continuous process that involves students gradually moving one step at a

time to meeting their end goal. Before initiating the process, I will ensure that the students

develop a positive mindset and perception before covering the required learning tasks. The

process must set with students thinking positively about themselves, their peers, and the

materials to be covered. This paper will illustrate my personal teaching philosophy which is

reflected through my own beliefs, goals, and strategies.

3

Conception of How Learning Occurs

I believe that learning occurs through four significant steps, which include preparation,

absorption, capture, and review. Preparation is the primary step that will determine the success of

the rest. I intend to ensure students' adequate preparation for the learning process at this stage in

nursing education. The theory of classical conditioning can best explain preparation. The

approach states a student will respond to stimulus produced in response to prior preparation.

With adequate preparation, students can comprehend the initial sessions, building confidence for

the rest of the class. The next step in the learning process is practical absorption. According to

Watson et al. (2016), absorption refers to taking new information, ideas, and concepts.

Absorption is also a critical stage as it involves the active listening of the students. I will ensure

the constant presentation of enthusiasm in covering the topic, ensuring the learning process is not

dull and improves active listening among the students. Capturing is the next step that involves

the systematic process of notetaking to recall the lessons quickly. The last of the processes is the

reviewing procedure that monitors the students' behavior and thinking to ensure that there has

been the comprehension of the learning concepts. The review concept rhymes with the cognitive

theory, which states an individual's thoughts and ideas are based on the knowledge acquired in a

class setup. Hence, this cycle determines the process and guides how learning occurs.

Goals as an Instructor

One of my main goals as a nursing instructor is to ensure adequate knowledge

transmission to the student, which aids in a successful life. I desire to see students become more

educated and knowledgeable about the real world. In my experience, I have realized that

education is the key to leading a successful life. Thus, the goal of seeing my students becoming

very successful in the future and leading happy lives wakes me up every morning and pushes me

4

to overcome the hardships of teaching. Additionally, through my nursing instructing profession, I

intend to give back to the community by producing individuals who are well qualified to face the

adversities of life through the knowledge and skills imparted. Educating students is not just about

the formal sector, but also revolves around the informal sector. Thus, my teaching will also

include various life skills and knowledge for better interaction and coexistence with others in the

workplace or the general community.

In my learning experience, my peers hardly interacted or engaged with each other. I

intend to change this by providing life skills such as cultural competence to my students. The last

of my goals is to guide the nursing student in the area of specialty. While I was a student, I was

confused about which profession specialty best suited me. Some of my classmates made rash

decisions that they regret up to date. Therefore, I intend to provide wise counseling to the student

on reviewing their skills and choosing the best possible specialty that suits their career goals and

objectives.

Actual or Anticipated Teaching Strategies and Methods

The current education systems have continually been subjecting students through intense

training and teaching processes. I intend to employ different teaching techniques for my students.

One of such strategies is by using short time lectures as one of the teaching practices. I will

ensure that the sessions are passive and run for a considerable time range for the students. Using

this strategy ensures less pressure that may be caused by conducting the lessons to single

students. In my experience, learning as a group allows the students to share their ideas, makes the

class lively, and builds up confidence for the subsequent sessions. Thus, as an educator, I will

use short lectures as my students' primary teaching strategy.

5

Additionally, I intend to use group discussions, assignments, and practical activities

towards teaching. In my learning experience, discussions were great since we could share

knowledge and ideas, think critically, and solve problems ourselves. However, the current

education system heavily relies on technology for teaching students, and it does not produce

100% results. The discussion and group forums will help the student interact, think, and analyze

situations presented in class. Moreover, through this strategy, there will be an improvement of

future teamwork among these oncoming nurses.

Justification for Teaching

The current education has employed online classes where the students have one-on-one

interaction with their instructors. However, I have noted that, despite the online platform's

benefits, such students are constantly under pressure and fearful of failure. Teaching my students

as a group will provide room and an accessible environment that aids in regular interaction.

Additionally, in my lecture, no idea is wrong. This will build up my students’ confidence in

going through the class as a group. Therefore, teaching students as a group will reduce pressure

experienced with one-on-one interaction with the instructors. The use of groups will help my

students interact, developing positive associations that will aid in critical thinking and

ideasharing, which are practical elements in any class. In my learning procedure, the instructor

organized the class in groups that ensured interaction developed to teamwork in the healthcare

centers. Thus, the small group strategy will aid in the improvement of teamwork and future

interprofessional collaboration.

Teaching and Facilitating Student Learning

Students will expect me to deliver the necessary and required knowledge as their

instructor, consequently propelling them to a new medical career height. Hence, there is the

6

significant importance of developing effective strategies, short time lectures, and group

discussion forums. Lectures will ensure the transfer of my knowledge to the student, which aid in

the learning process. Secondly, groups and teams will ensure that the students engage together in

collective talks and share ideas, which will assist in the effective acquisition of knowledge and

ideas.

Conclusion

Service is a fulfilling act that not only benefits the community, but also allows one to find

their own true role and purpose in life. Helping others is humbling and brings solidarity. I am

glad to have the opportunity to share my knowledge and impact young people. Having that I was

once in the same position as my students, I will ensure my teaching services absolute best

delivery, guaranteeing their success. Instructing students is one way of giving back to the

community and fulfilling my moral value of assisting others in achieving their goals. Therefore, I

will ensure that I give my undivided attention to teaching my students.

7

References

Ruipérez-Valiente, J., Muñoz-Merino, P., Leony, D., & Delgado Kloos, C. (2015). ALAS-KA: A

learning analytics extension for better understanding the learning process in the Khan

Academy platform. Computers in Human Behavior, 47, 139-148.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.07.002

Watson, M., Pelkey, J., Noyes, C., & Rodgers, M. (2016). Assessing impacts of a learning-

cyclebased module on students' conceptual sustainability knowledge using concept maps

and surveys. Journal of Cleaner Production, 133, 544-556.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.063