The goal of education is the betterment of the individual and community. At the center of this is the development of critical thinking, analytical skills, and a sense of ethical and moral responsibility. It has been my experience that students are better able to develop these skills in a community setting, and for this reason I attempt to have each of my classes develop as individual communities. Various group assignments and discussions can encourage this in the classroom
The development of critical thinking and ethical responsibility is something very important to my mission as a teacher, and I work to help my students develop these skills. To achieve this, I question my students about how technology may impact their writing and editing habits, have them discuss in groups how writing can be used in unethical ways, and assign writing projects that require them to summarize and analyze different forms of media and the themes that underlie them. One assignment that I will give students involves them viewing the trailer of a movie and then watching the movie itself – Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) is a good example of what I would assign them to watch – and summarize the movie, analyze how it is different from what its trailer markets, and examine the themes behind the movie. One reason I like this assignment is that it encourages students in developing their media literacy, which can help them critically examine different forms of media that they encounter.
Another lesson I will teach is on Steven Katz’s “The Ethics of Expediency,” which highlights the importance of ethical responsibility as it relates to writing. Writing is not just an academic exercise but also both a medium of communication and a way to help students develop critical thinking skills. The latter is accomplished through helping students develop concise arguments through their writing that they can support with evidence.
Part of this involves helping my students strengthen their reading skills by exposing them to works outside of the traditional literary canon. This includes introducing them to works from East Asia, “pop” literature, and some forms of literature which may be called “artistic” or experimental. For me, some of these terms are very broad. Such works may include some of Stephen King’s novels, works like Lone Wolf and Cub, and Samuel Beckett’s How It Is. In this way, I hope to challenge any preconceived views they may have been taught regarding what “is literature.” This plays into my approach of being a devil’s advocate. I do not intend to necessarily disprove or change my students’ beliefs as much as I wish to challenge them to support their beliefs with logical arguments.
Over time my teaching approach has changed. While in graduate school, I taught a lesson on “Ethics in Writing,” using Steven B. Katz’s article, “The Ethic of Expediency,” as the main focus. This was the first time I ever taught, and my then did not resonate well with the class. Having reviewed that experience, if I have the chance to teach that lesson again I would incorporate a lesson outline to help students follow along, a slideshow presentation to structure the lecture, a group of discussion questions to frame class discussion, and design a group activity to help students interact and share ideas with one another while working with the concepts.
Another innovation I have made use of while teaching involves including an interactive game that encourages students to answer questions asked during the presentation by awarding them points based on their answer(s) and participation. While I only occasionally use this, I have found that it helps encourage more interaction between me and them.
The feedback I receive from students is something I take to heart. It is something that I have carried over into my teaching philosophy and my grading philosophy. Part of this is: mistakes are meant to be learned from. With this in mind, I offer students a chance to rewrite assignments. I offer one rewrite for each assignment so they have the chance to make improvements and learn from their mistakes. I see this as allowing students to grow and be rewarded for improving themselves through learning. In this way, my teaching has adopted more aspects of collaborative pedagogy.
Kirby Kinard 