For me, reflection is a key to continuous self improvement. Although I have often written in journals, having a teaching web site allows me to share reflections with students and colleagues.

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is the primary reflective statement I use to guide the work I do in my classes. Although it has remained unchanged for three years, at the end of each semester I review it to make sure that it is still a valuable guide for the work I do in the classroom.

After compiling the evaluation materials, I wrote a reflection on the process.

Reflective Action

I am a firm believer in reflective action. When I developed my teaching web site, I began to share appropriate reflections on-line.

• Teaching Blog
  My teaching blog is the primary way in which I share day-to-day reflections on my teaching, research, and service. The following blog entries are representative of the type of reflection which is found there.
  • In “Don’t you Care That I Did a Good Job?”, I reflect on an incident that took place in class; an incident that—upon reflection—I realize that I could have handled better. After posting the blog entry, I sent the link to the students in the course. Some of them responded and their comments were added to my reflection.

  • I don’t just reflect on incidents that did not go well. In “Engaging Students in a National Dialogue,” I reflect on an assignment that I think is very good.

  • Sometimes my reflections, such as “Don’t Let Your Parent’s Speak for You,” provide advice for students. I am aware that some of these entries, such as "The Princess and the Pimp" are being used by my colleagues in working with their students.

  • In a reflection such as “Faculty Must Not “Own” Events,” I use an incident in my life at the college and frame my reflection in light of more global issues facing colleges and faculty. At other times, as I did in “Wikipedia as a Teaching Tool,” I directly reflect on national issues.

• Best Practices
  The best practices section of my teaching web site explains the pedagogical reasons for activities I do in my classes. Currently, I have two sections: one on guest speakers and one on participating in campus events. In both of these sections, I do not simply state that my students had a specific speaker or participated in a particular event. Instead, I reflect on how the speaker or event added to the course.

  After Professor John Titus spoke to my ENG 101 class on February 1, I asked my students to reflect on what they learned from his talk. Many of the students gave me permission to publish their reflections along with my own.

• Reflections on Service
  Instead of just listing service I do for my department, college, and community, I will often create pages where I reflect on the purpose of the service and how it advances student learning. For example, taking students to School Daze was not just an enjoyable way for them to learn about campus activities. The activity was integrated into my classes.

  As you read the material I have prepared about service, you will see linkis to additional more reflections.

• Reflections on Development
  In the past, I have reflected in personal journals about my development. Now that I have a web site, I have begun reflecting publicly on what I get out of certain activities such as attending a session on copyright law.