Teaching experience

 

 

Taught at University of North Carolina at Pembroke (2009-current)

Taught at West Virginia University (2003-2009)

Taught at Fairmont State College (2001)

 

In addition to formal education, I have had significant experience in informal outreach efforts.  The role of education continues to change and the efforts placed in informal education today will likely have a direct impact on the classroom tomorrow.  

 

Teaching Philosophy

 

Interaction of any kind includes an audience.  Whether you are speaking to an audience of one or an audience of hundreds an important goal is to present information that is relevant and topical in an approachable and enjoyable fashion.  To achieve this goal you can not simply have an interest in the topic of discussion or let a book guide the topic, instead you must immerse yourself in a topic, be tied into the experience of the presentation and the information, and carry your personal interest into the discussion of the content at hand.  If you can show your audience that there is in fact, someone who is connected to the course content, they are more likely to respond with their own personal interest.

 

In Geography, it is easy to find a sub-area to be excited about as it covers such a broad area of interest.  From human to physical, from fieldwork to high tech, there is an area that will always capture the imagination and interest of someone.  This is not to say that everyone must become a Geographer.  Instead, in the “spatial turn” that has been occurring in a range of disciplines over the last few decades, Geography and its methods and tools have become explicitly important in nearly all areas of research practice.  By setting spatial concepts within a broader context it is easier for students to understand that “spatial awareness” goes beyond the boundaries and capitals of Social Studies test to extend to the spatial attributes and interactions of and between objects.

 

Geospatial tools offer a concrete example of how spatial awareness can be implemented and support a broad range of disciplines both in the classroom and beyond.  Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems, and Remote Sensing which lie at the heart of the array of geospatial technologies available today hold the key to preparing students and professionals alike for the geospatial technologies that continue to find their way to the market.  Providing students with a hands-on experience with geospatial technologies as simple as a Geographic Explorations System, such as “latitude and longitude”, “scale”, and “feature extraction” more readily than through a lecture situation.

 

However, while technology can support education efforts and help reinforce concepts it is rarely an end unto itself.  The technology should always lead back to how Geography and spatial awareness link to broader questions of research and practice whether they lie in Geography or only utilize spatial concepts in another discipline.  It is my immersion in Geography and related areas that drive my interest in teaching and in sharing my experiences to provide an example of how spatial awareness can help in class and in life.

 

 

 

This lesson plan focuses on giving students a hands-on experience with Geographic Exploration Systems and fits well with 21st Century learning goals by allowing students to explore information using technology.  The lesson plan is meant to be the beginning of a series of tech specific classes that are project based assessments leading to a set of student created content presented either in class or, if included in an online class, presented via student websites.  The content is created for an introductory level class in a college or university setting, but could easily support project-based learning in high schools as well by giving students tools to create content that is location specific or related to an area.

 

 

Teaching with technology is a matter of ‘it went well, it went not so well’.  Each time I teach with a technology, whether it be PowerPoint or a professional software package, there are always improvements and drawbacks over teaching with traditional methods.  The difficult bit of using technology in the classroom is incorporating it in appropriate and effective way.  It takes experience and repetition in order to effectively blend content and instruction with technology, however it is important to maintain an understanding of current technologies in order to stay abreast of the abilities of students.  It is not necessary to incorporate all current technologies into the classroom though.  For instance, sites like Facebook offer an intriguing platform for information sharing, however it is not an appropriate use of technology for the classroom due to its open and social nature.  Instead it is more important to find appropriate technologies that support the content being presented.  With ever increasing numbers of lesson plans being made available online that have been tested in the classroom it is becoming easier to incorporate appropriate and effective technologies in education.