5/5/13 Teaching Philosophy Statement - Matthew D.

Lovelace
https://sites.google.com/site/matthewdavislovelace/teaching-portfolio/teaching-statement 1/3
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MatthewD. MatthewD.
Lovelace Lovelace
TeachingPhilosophyStatement
MatthewD.Lovelace

Morepeoplebecomegoodbypracticethanbynature.
Democritus

ResearchbyCarolDweckshowsthatsuccessfullearnerstendtohavea
growthmindset,meaningtheyviewchallenge,andevenfailure,notasayardstickof
theirtalentsorworth,butasanopportunitytolearnandchange.Iknowthatinnate
abilities,likeintelligence,areimportantinacademics,buttheyareonlypiecesofthe
puzzle.Inmyexperience,skillsandcharacteristicslikegrit,optimism,intellectual
openness,andeffectivestrategyuseoftenplayamuchlargerroleinstudents
academicsuccess.Further,unlikeintelligence,thesecharacteristicscanbelearned,
anditismyjobtofocusprimarilyonteachablequalities.Istartwiththisworldview
onlearningbecauseitstronglyinfluencesthelearningobjectivesIset,aswellasthe
instructionaltechniquesandassessmentmethodsIuse.Inshort,Iworkhardtoteach
inawaythatencouragesstudentstoselfappraiseskillstruthfully,takestepstoward
improvement,welcomefeedback,takewellinformedrisks,andopenlylearnfrom
bothsuccessesandfailurestohaveagrowthmindset.
LearningObjectives
Skills,notjustcontent.Knowledgeisnotstatic.Inmanydisciplines,muchof
whatwastrueseveraldecadesagoisnowoutdatedorincorrect.Inmyfield,learning
howtothinklikeaneducationalpsychologistislikelymorevaluabletomystudents
thanlearningwhattothink.Inotherwords,Iviewcontentasameanstoanendas
amediumfordevelopingskillsthatwilllikelygeneralizetootherareasofmy
studentsprofessionallives.Theseincludepracticalskills,likeinformationliteracy,
knowinghowtociteresources,andwritingandcommunicatingeffectively.They
alsoincludehigherordercognitiveskills,suchasapplyingknowledgetocreate
Searchthissite
5/5/13 Teaching Philosophy Statement - Matthew D. Lovelace
https://sites.google.com/site/matthewdavislovelace/teaching-portfolio/teaching-statement 2/3
solutionstoproblems.
Instruction&Assessment
Classisprimarilyforpracticeandassessment.Iprefertostructuremy
coursessothatmuchofthecontentislearnedoutofclass,throughreplayable
media,likereadings,videos,andonlinelectures.LecturesIgiveinclassaretypically
shortandintendedtohelpstudentsmakeconnectionsbetweenpreviousknowledge
andwhatisbeinglearned.Thisallowsmetouseclassprimarilyasatimefor
studentstopracticewhattheyarelearningandformetocheckandfacilitatetheir
understanding.DiscussionisonemethodIusefrequentlytotheseends,becauseit
canpromoteinterestandhigherorderthinking,anditallowsmetoefficiently
monitorunderstandingandprovidefeedback.Tokeepdiscussionsfromderailing
andtoavoidthemisconceptionthatdiscussionsareunproductive,Ifindwaysto
documentthem.Forinstance,inaneducationalpsychologyclass,aftermystudents
brainstormedontheboardpracticalsolutionstoachronicbehaviorproblem,Itooka
pictureoftheresultsandposteditontheclasswebsite.
Engagedlearning.Iwantmyinstructiontoencouragedeeppsychological
investmentinlearningandactiveinvolvementwithcoursecontent,becausethisis
likelytoleadtodeeperlearning.Thiscanbeagreatchallenge,butIfindthat
studentsareoftenmoreinvestedwhenIuseactivitiesthatareappropriately
challenging,involveauthenticproblemsolving,offerchoice,requirehigherorder
thinking,andencouragecooperation.Thecasestudymethodisparticularlyuseful
forengagingmystudentsactivelyincoursecontent.Thesenarrativevignettes
involverealisticteaching/learningproblems,andItypicallyhavestudentswork
togethertoanalyzethem,applycourserelatedknowledge,andcreaterealistic
solutions.
Mygoalofkeepinginstructioninteractiveandproblembasedincludes
lecture,notjustcollaborativework.Forexample,beforeintroducinganupcoming
learningtheory,Istartwithacasethatisnotwellexplainedbyourpreviously
coveredtheories,andencouragestudentstogenerateanewexplanationoftheir
own.Then,tohelpthembuildconnectionsbetweentheirpreviousknowledge,their
ownideas,andthenewinformation,Iintroducethenewtheoryinthecontextofthe
scenarioitbetterexplainsandrelateittotheexplanationssuggestedbytheclass.
Assessmentisfrequentandongoing.ManyoftheteachingmethodsIuseare
informalassessments,becausetheyallowmetogatherongoingdataonstudent
progress.Forthisdatatobeuseful,however,itmustbecloselyalignedwithmy
formalassessments.Makingthispracticeexplicitlycleartomystudentsallowsthem
5/5/13 Teaching Philosophy Statement - Matthew D. Lovelace
https://sites.google.com/site/matthewdavislovelace/teaching-portfolio/teaching-statement 3/3
topracticeagrowthmindsetthroughoutthesemester,becausetheycanrealistically
evaluatetheeffectivenessoftheirstudystrategiestowardmeetingtheirendof
semestergoalsandmakeanynecessaryadjustmentsearlyon.
InthesamewaythatIopenlyencourageagrowthmindsetinmystudents,I
alsochallengemyselftomaintainthisviewtowardmyownteaching.Itisvery
importantthatIdo,becausemanyofmystudentswilleventuallybecometeachersin
theirownfields,andwhattheylearninmyclasshasthepotentialtoaffectthelives
ofgenerationsofotherstudents.Thisthoughtisexhilarating,andkeepsme
motivatedtocontinuetolearnandgrowasaninstructorofeducationalpsychology.

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