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Teaching Competencies

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is to follow the student-centered approach to teaching espoused by Carl Rogers. Rogers (1983) mentioned that learning should be learner driven and students should have the ability to take responsibility for their own learning and the role of the instructor is facilitator, guidance, and supporter his students. My experience as a student and teacher have helped me to believe that learners are more likely to achieve their desired learning goal when teachers create an environment in which students can take responsibility in their learning process through participation, interaction with each other, and collaboration.

 

When I was a teacher in high school, student-centered approach enables my students to transfer from passive receivers of information to become active participants in the classroom activities, in the small groups, by taking responsibility for their own knowledge building and learning (Norman & Spohrer, 1996). 

In my teaching practices, I practiced of learner-centered approach in different ways for teaching science and math in both K-12 and undergraduate course at An-Najah National University. These ways include dividing students into small groups, discussion activities, design online activities, and adopting weekly disscussion forums. With the availability of online resources, I tried to promote the flexibility to access to various type of content (video, text, visualize content). In addition, I used google document and virtual classroom to organize the activities. During the class activities, I guided my students and facilitated their tasks to accomplish the activities by recommending suitable educational websites and providing them feedback. 

As a way of linking my teaching goals with my research goals, I have presented a study in The Third Annual Forum on e-learning Excellence in the Middle East, Dubai 2010. In collaboration with a Professor from Birzeit University, a local University, we presented the findings of a study on online classes, where I was teacher and developer of the instruction. In these classes, the students worked individually and within small groups. The class activities were project-based activities in order to enhance collaborative work among the students. Students produced material and shared it on the forum as well as reflect on it. In addition, students use the virtual classroom to share their knowledge. This approach enhanced the students' participation and interaction with each other. The paper and the presentation were aimed at practitioners that may be considering various electronic learning paradigms. Here is the link to the study: Students' Readiness Towards E-learning. A case study of Virtual Classrooms for secondary education in Palestine.  Using technology to enhance student-centered approach in my teaching practics enabled me to publish another study with a professor in international journal. The title of the article is An e-learning approach to secondary education in Palestine: opportunities and challenges.

With the rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT), educators worldwide were enabled to share their experiences, knowledge, and materials with their colleagues and their students. Furthermore, teaching environments can be equipped with various resources aimed at providing flexibility to learners attempting to choose the proper tools and materials according to their individual learning needs. To use this opportunity, methods of teaching should be considered to promote sharing of various resorces to enrich learning environments with diverse resources and fulfilling learner needs.

Supporting learner-centered learning environments by integrating technology, specifically mobile technology carries potentials to contribute student learning since it enables them to study anywhere and anytime.

Conclusion

According to my teaching experience in different levels (elementary, middle and high schools) and undergraduate, integrating technology could support learner-centered approach in different levels. These differences are in terms of the type of technology, the time is chosen for technology use, class size, and the infrastructure of schools.  

 Through my journey in teaching in different context, I used various types of technology to enhance using student-centered strategies to engage my students in the class activities to achieve the desired learning goals.

 

Teaching Competencies

  • Acquiring content knowledge in subjects relevant to my teaching intentions

  • Teaching informal settings in my own field and a different field

  • Executing research to acquire foundational knowledge in methods that I intend to use in the future

  • Assisting a professor in a formal teaching setting

  • Teaching undergraduate students in a face-to-face environment as a guest instructor

  • Workshops Training

 

Evidence for Teaching Competencies

 * Acquiring content knowledge in subjects relevant to my teaching intentions

   I have completed Bachelor’s-level coursework in physics science and Master’s-level coursework in Instructional Design, Development, and            Evaluation and have been taking doctoral-level courses in IST and courses in my minor (Human-Computer    Interaction/Design).

Ongoing: B.S. Transcript, M.SC. Transcript, Ph.D. program of studies

 * Teaching in formal settings in my own field and in a different field.

      I taught Science, Math, Physics, and Information Technology in an elementary, middle, and high school in Palestine for five years.

Completed / Official Document proves that I was teacher

  • Teaching undergraduate students in a face-to-face environment for one year

        I taught Computer in Education in two semesters for undergraduate students. The course was divided into: Practical application lessons were in a                 computer lab. students learned about using various applications such as PowerPoint, Mind Mapper 2008, Windows Movie Maker, and Photo Story 3 for         Windows. 

Completed: Syllabus

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 * Assisting a professor for a formal teaching setting

    During the spring 2016 semester, I voluntarily assisted Dr. Rod Myers R541 course by providing feedback and helping students to design their       projects.

Completed: Certificate R541

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* Teaching Assistant: 

    During Fall 2016, I voluntarily assisted Prof. Boling in her online course by analyzing students' posts on canvas. 

Completed: Certificate R519

 

* Teaching Assistant:  

       During Spring 2017, I am teaching assistant with Prof. Kwon in his course W 220 for teaching undergraduate students                 Python                 (Programming Language) and Scratch. 

 * Workshops Training

    • Training 15 teachers on using Adobe Captivate 9 in the Tech Saturday event of the AECT 2015 Convention. I got feedback from the teachers about the content of the training and interaction between the instructor and the trainees. Proposal, Acceptance letter, Presentation

    • In Fall 2015, I conducted a training workshop about using Adobe Captivate 9 for Master’s students in IST for two months. This experience helped me to improve my communication skills and develop my presentation skills. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on my performance in training.

    • Training teachers and faculty on designing instructional materials by using Course Lab software in Saudi Arabia on sideline of the Second International Conference. The panel was attended by twenty professionals  from different fields and backgrounds. 

    • I designed self-training material to use Course Lab software. It is available online (English)

Completed: Training Material (Arabic)

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REFERENCES

Baloian, N., & Zurita, G. (2009). MC-Supporter: Flexible mobile computing supporting learning though social interactions. J. UCS, 15(9), 1833–1851.

Rogers, C. R. (1983). Freedom to learn for the 80s. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company. 

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