I would like to express my statement on teaching philosophy under the following rubrics, which are the combination of my life and teaching experiences and skills.
Enthusiasm. I look forward to teaching as part of my academic life because I have enjoyed the teaching opportunities. I want to teach because I like to share my knowledge with my students. I am interested in teaching courses in criminal justice, international law, human rights, homeland security, and policing issues. I studied the issues from the interdisciplinary perspective. I would really enjoy the opportunity to teach a course. I believe that enthusiasm is critical to good teaching and learning.’
Teaching experience. I believe that my teaching experiences, together with my academic background and communication skills coupled with thorough preparation and enthusiasm for the subject make me an excellent teacher. I enjoyed teaching the courses to diverse students coming from all over the world at the universities including the CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, and BRIDGEPORT. Such courses include the issues of criminal justice, security, homeland security, human rights, and democracy. I found the experience enjoyable and gratifying. I hope to advance the intellectual development of my students to the best of my abilities.
Positive Learning Environment. It is important to set up a positive learning environment. So, I create an environment that is conducive to learning. That is, I motivate my students, provide enough stimulation to minimize distractions, respect for my students’ human rights & values, which are essential in promoting intellectual diversity and participating in discussions. For instance, at the Spring semester of JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, in a discussion session, I gave a hope to the students by saying that may be you are going to be a politician after five years, then you will move forward the ESCRs, because I believe that the US will be a pioneer for ESCR as well in the near future, students become more interested in the issue and started to ask more Questions. In the other case, while teaching a course, I gave a short break in the class at the University of Adiyaman and asked: ‘Is there any student who wants to sing a song’, a female student answered surprisingly: ‘Yes, I am, but I can perform it best in Kurdish’, I continued to say on that: ‘Yes, you can perform it however you like. As soon as I finished my last sentence, everyone was surprised in the class because they said that they were not allowed to do so before. After that, I noticed my students seemed to be more encouraged to learn and take part in discussions.
Teaching / Learning Techniques. In my teaching, I use active learning techniques such as case studies, group activities, research projects, debates, handouts etc. to help students understand the subject matter. In the class, I emphasize the etymological and deep understanding of fundamental concepts depending on the courses taught. One week before the class, I deliver more documents necessary to my students. I would like my students to read, at least once, the topic of the week before attending the class. At CUNY John Jay, regarding the lecture slides on Introduction to HRs, students wanted me to put them at Blackboard as course materials because they are very useful, I put them on Bb so that students can review the main aspects of my lecture, then the students were really happy and benefited from them. I encourage my students to engage in research study groups and give presentations about it. Sometimes I do pop quizzes. My job is to help my students in their studies and professional development. My commitment does not end when the class period ends. In addition to my office hours, I operate with an open-door policy, encouraging students to drop in if they are feeling stuck or confused by any aspect of the class. I evaluate my students on written papers, and oral presentations as strongly as mid-term and final exams. Both my experience in classroom instruction and my supervisorship have allowed me to revise my personal teaching style and learned how effective teaching methods are.
Expectations and Goals. I believe that it is also significant to set specific expectations, standards, and goals of the course from the very first day of the class. Once they are set, they should be adhered to throughout the terms for raising the potential of students. The reason is clear: I insist upon excellence, I do not reward laziness and sloppy thinking. Standard setting for myself is also important because it gives students a clear sign of how they will be graded, helps also limit grading bias. In this regard, for instance, I say that ‘Students who give a five-minute presentation in the class shall be given additional marks.’ Another one is that ‘Students who take a research topic and submit it at the end of the term shall be given additional marks.’ Besides, I always ask students to think about how they do their assignments. It is important to be spent outside of class on more instructional activities, such as online short lecture videos, journal writing, discussion boards, and readings. Such activities prepare students to fully take part in classroom activities.
Student-Centered Teaching. It is especially important. So, I prefer teaching interactively, I care about the engagement of students. I promote active, cooperative learning. I promote learning of the subject matter of course. I would like students to interact with the course content. So, I start with simple concepts before progressing to the more complex ones. However, I do not so much want to give my students a reading of a text because I believe that as a teacher, I am not the only source of knowledge in the classroom, rather I am engaged in helping students move from passive recipients to active creators of ideas. I make sure that students understand the knowledge gained in the class. Moreover, I like to be personable and dynamic to help students feel comfortable in the class. So, I encourage them to ask questions on the topic. Otherwise, I ask questions: ‘Who can tell me the most crucial thing you learned today in the class or ‘What was the funniest point I made in my lecture’. I also pay attention to the facial expression of my students; If I am satisfied with the outcome, it means that my philosophy of teaching works well.
Critical Thinking and Values. I advocate critical thinking in my class and expect my students to develop their ability to think critically and analytically. I want my students to take responsibility to share what they learned because we are all life-long learners. I respect my students’ cultural, religious, philosophical values or concerns like race, gender, color, etc. There is my responsibility to take a neutral stance on controversial issues. Feedback from my students and colleagues allow me to improve my teaching methods. Finally, I believe that it is vital to cultivate an environment that embraces and promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is fundamental to the success of teaching. So, my teaching philosophy is based on advancing and supporting the DEI values and initiatives.