NFE Reflections Harrison 2007-8
From CTLpedia
MCC New Faculty Experience Reflections, Pam Harrison, Life Sciences, Mesa Community College (mailto:pamharrison@mail.mc.maricopa.edu)
My Teaching Philosophy
My job is to make learning easier for my students. I need to determine what information is the most important for the students to learn and dliver it to them in the simpliest to learn manner possible.
Reflections on Scholarly Teaching and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Frankly, since I started this experience at the start of the second semester, I possibly missed the definition of scholarly teaching and learning. What I understand the concept to be is improving our teaching techniques by improving our own knowledge. In my field, the subject matter never stand still. The available knowledge is always expanding. It is up to us as instructors to keep pace with the new inovations in the knowledge base, but at the same time know how much the students can absorb during the time that we have them. In addition, we should be aware of the differing needs of our students. Not every student learns in the same way. We need to be aware of new teaching methods that could be applied to our class, realizing that not all newe methods should be applied to our class. My experience with the New Faculty Experience just reinforced with me the need to both a knowledgeable instructor but at the same time still a student.
Understanding of MCC Culture Gained through NFE
Becasue I was an adjunct at MCC for many years before I was hired as a full time instructor, I was already aware of a lot of the programs available at MCC. Through the NFE, I did learn about many opportunities that are open to only Residential faculty. I also learned more about responsibilities I now have as a Residential faculty, such as the FEP process and committee membership. I believe I would have learned even more if I had attended in NFE from the beginning of the year.
Impact of NFE on my Approach to Teaching
Through NFE, my belief that I should always improve my teaching methods was reinforced. I must always self evaluate my methods and change them if they are not working. I have to put in the time to decide how to better reach my students. The interaction with the other members of the MFE community helped me realize that I am not alone in this and they gave me some insights on their struggles and solutions.
Reflection on my Experience in the NFE Community
I completely enjoyed my time in the NFE community. I started the process midway through the program. Everyone was welcoming and were willing to interact with me even though I was new. I especially enjoyed the day that we played WII as a group building experience. We didn't really know what we were doing, but we had a great time anyway as a group.
Reflection on My Future as a Member of the MCC Community
I hope that I can become a contributing member of the MCC community. I hope that my biggest contribution is the education of my students. At the same time I plan to be involved with other activities on campus that add to the enrichment of the whole MCC experience. The NFE has started me on the pathway of being a connected annd informed member of the community.Link title
