Statement of Teaching Philosophy © Oge Marques, PhD – 2020
My teaching philosophy is based on the following principles:
- Communicate and connect. Clear and frequent communication between students and instructor is key to students’ success. By making myself available to students – in and out of the classroom, across multiple communication channels and tools – I provide students with a sense of presence, responsibility, and coaching guidance to help them progress in their courses, correct their trajectories, answer their burning questions, and close the gaps in their learning. I strive to maintain friendly personal interactions with all my students and build relationships based on trust, civility, and mutual respect.
- Facilitate learning. The role of the instructor has shifted during the past decades, from “owner of knowledge” to “facilitator of learning.” I have embraced these changes by investing a substantial amount of time and energy to help students learn to learn for themselves. Following the best practices recommended by contemporary curators of content, I search for the best (mostly online) fresh and reliable resources associated with each course and compile them as “Guided Tours” to specific topics. To close the loop, I encourage students to suggest additions to the ongoing list of resources via discussion board forums, keeping the list constantly updated and alive.
- Adopt the best tools. The fast pace at which the field of Computer Science advances requires that courses stay current, both in terms of contents as well as the tools used to teach and practice them. I take pride in using the most current resources (software tools, web sites, textbooks, online tutorials, etc.) in my courses and in constantly updating and renewing course materials to reflect the state-of-the-art.
- Promote project-based learning. All of my courses are centered around projects designed to challenge and demonstrate students’ newly acquired skills and knowledge. The nature and topic of each project is carefully selected to be meaningful to both the students and potential employers.
- Challenge students to perform at their best (and reward them for doing so). I believe students must be challenged and take special care in ensuring there is a balance between the nature and size of the challenges, the skills required to meet them, and the rewards that await students upon successful completion of their tasks.
In summary, I invest a great amount of energy and enthusiasm into my teaching, doing my very best to encourage student participation, foster creative thinking, and create the best possible learning environment for my students.