Few things in the world are changing as fast as educational technology, impacting students in profound ways on what they learn, how much they learn, and how they are taught. Teachers, in these technology-driven classrooms, are sometimes cast into new roles as coaches and motivators in this unique learning environment. But the focus remains the same — its the students.

As a designer and an educator, it is important for me to keep my students actively engaged in the learning process. I point out to them the relevance of the skills they are learning to their future professional lives and forged meaningful connections between these learned skills and how this knowledge translates to real life opportunities.

My course content evolves in response to the needs and demands of the job market and academic requirements of higher degrees. I try to find effective ways to implement this objective: of balancing technical skills with abstract thinking and verbal skills. With this goal integrated into the course objectives, students will come out of our design classes, not only technically proficient in programs demanded by the job market, but good visual thinkers and communicators as well.

I read and was fascinated on the concept of “Whole Brain Teaching.” This instructional approach emphasizes active learning, where the student makes connections that tap both left and right hemispheres of the brain, producing a more balanced state. This teaching approach is a challenge for all educators. It is specially difficult for those in the field of art where one hemisphere of the the brain is clearly more utilized than the other. But it is not unachievable. It will take a lot of concentrated effort on the part of the teacher, and of the student; but in such a balanced state, the effort becomes its own reward.

Teaching Approaches

Throughout my teaching career, I have experimented with a variety of strategies to improve student learning and knowledge retention. I have found that the most effective teaching method is one that involves the student as a "process participant." I try to avoid the “talking head” model of teaching because this makes the students "passive recipients" instead of "active learners." Studies have shown that this model is ineffective in teaching students critical thinking skills.

For students to become “active” learners and good designers, they have to be placed at the center of the process, encouraging them to think and explore the relevance of the design skills they are acquiring to their lives. Re-shifting the format from straight lecture to one that incorporates cooperative learning, encourages "active learning." In my classes, there are always open engagement of discussions between myself and the students, as well as between student to student, through group or collaborative work.

I like to established a welcoming environment in my classroom where students can express their thoughts freely. I hold regular peer critiques and review of students’ design projects by students. This gives them a sense of empowerment and recognition that their ideas are respected and worth listening to. I enjoy these interactions because, as a teacher, their comments make me realize that there may be different realities, or at least, different perspectives on what we are trying to teach, and these are valuable contributions to our understanding of the teaching process.

As classrooms become more diverse in its constituency, I am committed to fairness and equal respect for all students and recognized them as individuals, rather than as representatives of any gender, minority, age, or ethnic group.

I am committed in creating a welcoming, inclusive environment in our classrooms. The emotional climate, or how a student “feels” in class, the sense of community, is a critical factor in the learning process. I do not let students sit idly by if they are not learning. I want to know when something is not working in the classroom, and I will do what I can to rectify it. For learning is still the ultimate goal of education.

Some concluding thoughts...

I opened this web site with one of my favorite quotes:

"To teach is to learn again."

I have been blessed in my life to have the opportunity to keep on learning, by teaching. But learning to teach, just like learning anything else, is a lifelong process. Although good class preparation is clearly necessary, my goal, in teaching, is not to craft the best lecture possible, but rather to provide the best possible learning environment for my students.

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Copyright©2009, Z. Baduel