Teaching

Strangely, many academics who end up with heavy teaching loads receive limited training in different pedagogical approaches. I’m attempting to use my website not only as a space to share research, but also to reflect on teaching.

Teaching philosophy

I’ve recently decided to begin sharing a brief, readable, statement on my teaching philosophy with students. Here is the current version:

• All students, no matter their grades or the amount of energy they dedicate to their studies, are valuable and important. All students should be given opportunities to succeed.
• I measure students’ success by how much you progress (in terms of developing your skills) and how you engage with the material (including finding ways it’s relevant to your lives), not by your final grade.
• ‘Teaching’ is only part of the dynamic. I can offer opportunities to learn, support, and resources, but it’s up to students how much they engage with these.
• Teaching involves taking a stance: the choice of topics to cover and how they’re presented will always reflect my own interests and experiences. I’ll try to be clear about this, as well as to make space for students to develop their own analysis.

 

At the moment I’m unit architect (the person responsible for continuous development) for two units, both of which were initially designed by others a few years ago:

• Power, Politics and the Internet, which you can study through OUA as an undergraduate or postgraduate, and at Curtin in a variety of different undergraduate and postgraduate formats.
• The Digital Economy, which you can also study through OUA as an undergraduate or postgraduate, and at Curtin in a variety of different undergraduate and postgraduate formats.