What is your teaching philosophy?

My philosophy on teaching is grounded in the idea that a school is a learning-centered institution. When I think about a university or school as a learning-centered institution, I think of how all the departments, colleges, and schools work together to bring the respective professional fields to the students in such a way that the focus is on imparting knowledge. Wisdom is the application of knowledge, and the faculty are the instruments in which the skills and information, in a given field, are transmitted to the developing professionals. Being learning-centered means that everything that is purchased or integrated into the classrooms and labs is a learning tool in the education process. Whereas hands-on training is very important, especially in tangible-skill or technically-driven fields, training without the theoretical or applied knowledge backing it up will not sink in as deeply. Centering the academic process on fostering an interactive, participatory environment is key to growing and nurturing students in a particular academic, technical, or artistic field. In a learning-centered college, the students are more than pupils or passive learners; they are active participants and partners in learning. They are each individuals who have their own needs and learn in various ways. Whereas it is difficult to fully accommodate each individual learning style, it is imperative for a professor to consider the various learning strategies and creatively work each of them into the overall learning process to best prepare students for the professional workforce. Responsibility for learning needs to be placed upon the students as well. Because true learning doesn't take place until the student bears some responsibility in the process. The student taking the responsibility of implementing and integrating the information, imparted by a professor, will actively involve him or her in the learning-centered environment. Forming a collaborative environment is paramount in developing active academic infrastructure. By immersing the students into a collaborative environment, the students learn to work with the professor and colleagues when accomplishing various tasks. Furthermore, this collaboration also aids in identifying the various learning methods and best practices in a particular class. Building a learning-centered college requires the integration of innovative alliances with various business and established working professionals. Connecting the students with established business and professionals allows them to take the information from the classroom and begin to practice with and hone it. So often, students graduate college without any means of connecting to the professional world; and bringing the professional world into the classroom allows students to build a bridge from academic to the professional workforce. Finally, the goal of building a learning-centered college is the development and execution of a learning vision supported by plans of action to reach the goal. This means creating an established process that will actively engage students on the practical and theoretical levels in an environment that generates opportunities for further involvement in a particular field of study.