Fethiye Ozis, PhD, PE
Senior Lecturer
Civil Eng, Con. Mng., Env. Engineering
Teaching Academy Member
I graduated as an engineer from an education system where students directed all attention toward the teacher, and all I needed to do was just sit and listen. I have never experienced active learning in the classroom. In honesty, it took a long time for me to enjoy learning. Learning was a struggle. I had to spend hours to review the topics we covered in the class to complete my homework and studying for exams was hit or miss. I vividly remember sitting down for a final exam on microbiology, after a whole semester of work as a freshman, only to find one mere question on the final exam. I sat there for 45 minutes, shocked. I tried to organize my thoughts, which were all over the place, in the last 15 minutes of the exam and write my response. My first ever epic failure!
My educational experience started to shift completely in graduate school. For the first time ever, I felt happy to learn new and challenging material. I became passionate about learner-centered education by shifting my role from a teacher to a facilitator and creating self-regulated learners. I see that it is my responsibility to use the content as a way to balance students’ need to discover what I need to share. The most rewarding aspect in this endeavor was being clear about my expectations, forming small group learning activities where everyone felt they have a voice and a role. A female student sent me this email in the second week of the semester “On a side note, I just want to say how grateful I am for your class! Usually, I am not one for participating but I feel more comfortable sharing in your class than any of my others.”
My quest to become a learner-centered educator is now in its eighth year. Both my thinking and my practice have changed considerably since I started. This has been the most remarkable journey of my career. I used to think that someday I would finally be an effective teacher; however, I changed my mindset. With all the pedagogical experts I had the pleasure to work with and learn from, I realized that “effective” teaching is a journey rather than a destination.
It’s interesting that my microbiology final epic failure is a moment I return to even now- because it reminds me that I must try to recreate my undergraduate experience where I was left alone in the dark, try to redress the balance between the educator and the learner, and make it enjoyable. This is not a smooth ride though. One needs to resist the pushback from some students to not keep doing things the way it was done in the past. One must also resist the temptation to remain static or maintain the status quo. If the goal is to be a role model for our students and be bold, to take risks, and to keep trying new pedagogical instruments, even if sometimes it might mean slight student dissatisfaction.
Need some inspiration? Here are some facts about learner-centered education to get you started thinking.
A healthy dose of student connection is essential. Good teachers empower students by establishing mutual trust and positive relationships. Research shows that establishing rapport with students not only encourages them to achieve higher academic outcomes but also help professors receive better end-of-semester evaluations.
Effective teaching is inclusive, so working to establish respect as the core of your teaching philosophy will benefit all. Value students as individuals, withhold judgment, and welcome all perspectives.
A healthy dose of reflection is always helpful. Keep trying by using constructive feedback from your students, peers, and others. Having people around with whom you can bounce off ideas and develop further motivation is a great way to establish a sustainable professional development in reflective learner-centered educational philosophy.
And, should I ever doubt or need a reminder, then all I have to do is turn to that moment, and remember that final, failure and self-doubt, and make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone. For engineering to stay on the cutting edge, be creative and innovative, we need representation from diverse backgrounds, we can’t simply ignore more than 50% of the intellectual capacity coming through engineering doors. It is our job to support and encourage them to persevere.
I wish learner-centered pedagogy would be prescribed for all new teachers, who are content experts but may lack prior training on teaching. I hope my experience inspires you to give it a try if you have not already.