Teaching Statement

I have experience teaching English as a Second Language in Hong Kong for elementary to college aged students. I have worked as a one-on-one tutor for college students in the areas of microbiology, chemistry, physics, algebra, calculus, nursing, and biology. I have been a guest lecturer for master’s students teaching theory, including the Adaptive Leadership Framework. I also taught statistical analyses using the SAS program to PhD students during a weekly statistics lab. Additionally, I am nearly complete with the work needed to obtain a Certificate in College Teaching while I finish my PhD at Duke University. As part of this certificate, I completed coursework focused on curriculum development and facilitating student learning. I was observed while teaching, observed others teaching, and completed an online portfolio (this website). I have also been a teaching assistant for a genetics/genomics course and assisted with grading homework from master’s and PhD students for both statistics and genetics courses.

As an educator, I seek to follow the National League for Nursing (NLN) Core Competencies for Academic Nurse Educators. Including: 

1. Facilitate learning and achievement of desired cognitive, affective, and psychomotor outcomes in the classroom, laboratory, or clinical setting
2. Assist students in their development and socialization as nurses, integrating the values and behaviors of nurses by encouraging involvement in local and national organizations and leadership
3. Use an assortment of strategies to assess and evaluate student learning in a variety of settings (classroom, laboratory, or clinical) and all domains of learning (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor)
4. Formulate and evaluate program outcomes, design relevant curricula applicable to up-to-date healthcare needs, prepare students to function effectively
5. Serve as a change agent and leader, seek to create a positive future for nursing education and practice
6. Continuously seek to improvement as a nurse educator, commit to ongoing growth, and development to maintain knowledge and skills as a nurse educator 
7. Engage in scholarship by teaching and conducting research
8. Be aware of the educational environment, including the political, institutional, social, and economic forces impacting nursing practice and education

(National League for Nursing, 2021)

As an educator I would like to focus on love and passion for lifelong learning, out-of-the-box thinking, and removing the emphasis on grades as a marker of achievement, instead encouraging students to challenge themselves and seek to truly learn. I am interested in systems of education that use contracts and written assessments of individual student progress, considering the experiences each individual person brings to the table such that a range of perspectives, skills, and knowledge are recognized as valuable, and with the goal for each individual to show personal learning and growth versus comparison to other learners. I would like to use individual development plans with students, as well as a “flipped classroom” and “team-based learning” approach to education. Such that my role as an educator shifts from re-stating information already available in student’s material and reading, instead to designing and managing the instructional process. With this approach, students prepare and master objectives before coming to class (empowering self-directed learning), allowing the classroom time to be used to assess and clarify learning, and to focus on application of course concepts, encouraging individual participation, teamwork, and problem solving. 

Additionally, I am passionate about incorporating a universal design approach to my syllabus, assignment options, learning tools, etc. such that the needs of all learners are met in a considerate, purposeful, and equitable way.