Online Philosophy | waterresearch

Online Teaching Philosophy Statement

Online courses present a unique environment, which lends itself to courses on water and geography. My aim in teaching online courses on water and geography is to demonstrate spatial thinking and how this can be used to understand the complexities surrounding water security, management, and cooperation. I use a variety of methods that include lecture, multi-media, such as TED Talks and Web 2.0 tools, discussion, and readings. Weekly assignments focus on active learning, where students must engage with the material and each other. Project-based learning and group work encourages students to apply the concepts and skills from the course to demonstrate critical thinking and create their own tangible output, such as creating their own StoryMap. The beauty of water is that it is ubiquitous yet differs from place to place. The distance and asynchronous online environment allows students to share their unique water situation; the diversity of places will greatly benefit all the students so that they are exposed to different places and perspectives on water.

It is my role as an instructor to shape, guide, encourage, and assist students through their education. Learning that occurs in an online context is and can be defined in many ways, but as the instructor, the teaching and course design must fit the course goals, student needs, and the versatile environment provided by online courses. My goal as the instructor is to ensure that students increase their skills, complex thinking, and understanding of the content – the three prongs of my philosophy. I center my course design, learning outcomes, content, projects, and assignments to build student skills, thinking, and content knowledge using the advantage of the vast and flexible resources provided by online teaching. For example, a valuable skill is identifying trustworthy and reputable sources; therefore, we discuss peer-reviewed sources as part of early course content. This helps to develop student thinking and evaluation of sources; they must learn how to consider and weigh source reputability – both a skill and a complex thought process. This is practiced through an assignment where students must locate and use peer-reviewed sources. This exercise not only addresses their skill in evaluating source material, but also addresses course content by asking the students to find material relevant to the course subject and sharing with their peers on a class discussion board.

Students come to courses with different backgrounds, learning experiences, and needs; with this in mind, I must design courses to best meet their needs, while allowing them to develop the skills, thinking, and content knowledge to be successful both in the course and in their future endeavors. Online teaching presents the opportunity to be creative and inventive, while developing a quality-learning environment where every student has the potential to be a successful learner. In closing, I am committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive online learning environment with relevant tangible benefits for students – skills, thinking, and content – that encourages active learning, project-based assessment, and significant student-student and student-instructor interaction.

To learn more about my teaching philosophy, see the samples of my online course content in my portfolio.