Statement of
Teaching Philosophy & Pedagogy
By Edward Locke
For any questions, please send me an email ([email protected]).
For a PDF file of my Statement of Teaching Philosophy & Pedagogy, please click the following link.
edward_locke_statement_of_teaching_philosophy___pedagogy.pdf | |
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I believe that education should be student-centered. When I taught engineering graphics at Santa Ana College (2000-2007), I did my best to make students' learning experience both challenging and enjoyable. I focused on making it easy for students to learn the essentials of course content, while inspiring them to engage in real-world like product design projects. In order to accomplish my goals, I prepared detailed classroom lecture notes, step-by-step instructions for completing a particular task, so that, students could listen attentively to my talking while figuring out what challenging questions to ask, instead of focusing on taking notes. Occasionally, I went further beyond what was covered in the textbook or in the lecture notes, then I would tell my students to take notes and I would stop for a minute or two. The lecture notes also help students to review course content at my absence, and to master the basics of each topic in the textbook more efficiently. I used weekly quizzes (multiple-choices plus some fill-ins and hands-on sketches) and homework assignment to check student progress as a reference for the review of previously covered course content; I allowed make-ups for quizzes to give those falling behind a second chance to learn and to catch up; and I gave extra-credit project for advanced students to go ahead. In the last four weeks of the semester, students would be divided into groups to engage in real world like product design projects, using standard procedures of product design and engineering. Thus, I combined traditional essentialist pedagogy with project-based learning. To sum up, my teaching style is like selling a product to buyers with a detailed user manual and high quality after-purchase maintenance service. When I taught creative activities to technology teacher at the University of Georgia (2007-2009), I subscribed to the same teaching philosophy, although, due to the nature of the course as a hands-on, project-based one, the number of quizzes was reduced substantially, while all homework assignments were projects to be completed in a team-work environment (2-3 students per group). For teaching traditional arts, digital photography, 3D modeling and animation, I will focus on teaching the essential skills, preparing a lot of reference materials (i.e., my own hard copies of artworks, projects published online by professionals and studios working in the fields) for students to draw inspiration and reference from, and I will combine standard homework assignments using instructor-supplied digital materials with creative projects for which students prepare their own materials. In other words, my student-centered teaching philosophy and the basic strategy for its implementation will stay unchanged but the particular tactics for implementation will be refined or even altered from course to course, based on the nature of the particular course and its
connection to the real-world practice of graphic design and multimedia arts.
My former students came from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, including White, Latinos, Asians and African-Americans, from middle-class as well as economically disadvantaged first generation immigrants from Viet Nam and Latin America. I tried my best to accommodate different learning styles while making sure that the essentials of the course content were mastered. I implemented strict grading rules for the mastery of basic skills while allowing some reasonable accommodations (make-ups and extra-credits) to give all students an opportunity to succeed in my courses. This is a reflection of my belief in student-centered education too.
Dedicated to education of new generations of American technologists, product designers and digital artists, I have published many of my previously written learning tips, hints, instructional manuals with knowledge and skills not covered in standard textbooks, including an online textbook on engineering descriptive geometry, one research paper on logo and signage design and production, one instructional manual on how to use Adobe Photoshop skills to convert a normal picture into a funny caricature, a research paper on artistic expressions in public spaces, and I am in the process of publishing an online textbook on industrial product design in the age of digital revolution and globalization. I have recently mastered the essentially skills for creating instructional websites and producing educational videos and Flash animations for publication on YouTube website; this will substantially enhance my abilities to serve students.
During the crisis of COVID-19 Pandemic, most of schools in the United States adopted ZOOM-based long-distance instruction, with great success. Professor James Lemmon is a good example. He is a practicing interior designer and Assistant Professor of Interior Design at Los Angeles Mission College. I took several of his wonderful courses in interior design. He is a student-centered instructor who publish great instructional materials online at LACCD Canvas to facilitate student learning. At the start of the semester or session, he uploads all instructional materials online; they include: (1) PowerPoint presentation in PDF format which cover course content from each chapter in the textbook, ready for download by students for study and review at any time. These PowerPoint presentations are so detailed that you can use them as textbooks. Most college instructors nowadays upload PowerPoint presentation files they find from textbook publishers. But Professor Lemmon often add new materials he has prepared on his own. (2) Recordings of his lectures in MP 4 file format, also ready for download by students for study and review at any time. (3) All quizzes, Midterm and Final Exam with multiple-choice, true or false, and fill-in questions, allowing student to take multiple times before the assigned deadlines to achieve a perfect score. (4) The semester long written, design and research projects, allowing students flexible arrangement for completion of home works. With all of the above well-prepared instructional materials, especially recordings of his lectures in MP 4 file format, students can be well prepared for each online class meeting via Zoom, to ask him questions from his lectures; for students who miss the class meeting, they can watch his lecture at home using the recording of his lectures, and ask questions through campus email system. In summary, Professor Lemmon’s pedagogy is very student-centered and helpful especially for long-distance instruction. His student-centered pedagogic practice will be incorporated into my K-12 Engineering Education project (The SCHOLAR STEAM K12Plus), and into my future teaching assignments at both high school and college levels.
My formats for the delivery of instruction shall include two categories:
Category One - Classroom-based Instruction: Available for schools located in Los Angeles County, California only.
Category Two - Online Instruction via ZOOM or Other Tools: Available for schools located anywhere in the United States.
Instructional materials typically will include (1) Syllabus, (2) Quizzes, Midterm and Final Exams (multiple-choice, True or False, plus write-ins; to be taken multiple times before the due dates), (3A) Pre-recorded Zoom-lecture Videos (created by the instructor, based on textbook chapters), (3B) PowerPoint files in PDF format, Lecture Notes and “Things to Remember” files related to lectures, (3C) URLs of YouTube video to be used as additional learning materials, (4A) assignments with associated zipped materials), and (4B) samples of assignments. All materials will be downloadable.
All instructional materials needed for meeting required Student Learning Outcomes to be posted online at start of semester/quarter/session. Extra credit materials to be posted after midterm. Extra credit learning materials will be offered to (1) advanced students for learning something more “challenging” as a “mini independent study” project, and (2) for students with lower than A or B grades up to Midterm to improve performance as a “make-up.”
connection to the real-world practice of graphic design and multimedia arts.
My former students came from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, including White, Latinos, Asians and African-Americans, from middle-class as well as economically disadvantaged first generation immigrants from Viet Nam and Latin America. I tried my best to accommodate different learning styles while making sure that the essentials of the course content were mastered. I implemented strict grading rules for the mastery of basic skills while allowing some reasonable accommodations (make-ups and extra-credits) to give all students an opportunity to succeed in my courses. This is a reflection of my belief in student-centered education too.
Dedicated to education of new generations of American technologists, product designers and digital artists, I have published many of my previously written learning tips, hints, instructional manuals with knowledge and skills not covered in standard textbooks, including an online textbook on engineering descriptive geometry, one research paper on logo and signage design and production, one instructional manual on how to use Adobe Photoshop skills to convert a normal picture into a funny caricature, a research paper on artistic expressions in public spaces, and I am in the process of publishing an online textbook on industrial product design in the age of digital revolution and globalization. I have recently mastered the essentially skills for creating instructional websites and producing educational videos and Flash animations for publication on YouTube website; this will substantially enhance my abilities to serve students.
During the crisis of COVID-19 Pandemic, most of schools in the United States adopted ZOOM-based long-distance instruction, with great success. Professor James Lemmon is a good example. He is a practicing interior designer and Assistant Professor of Interior Design at Los Angeles Mission College. I took several of his wonderful courses in interior design. He is a student-centered instructor who publish great instructional materials online at LACCD Canvas to facilitate student learning. At the start of the semester or session, he uploads all instructional materials online; they include: (1) PowerPoint presentation in PDF format which cover course content from each chapter in the textbook, ready for download by students for study and review at any time. These PowerPoint presentations are so detailed that you can use them as textbooks. Most college instructors nowadays upload PowerPoint presentation files they find from textbook publishers. But Professor Lemmon often add new materials he has prepared on his own. (2) Recordings of his lectures in MP 4 file format, also ready for download by students for study and review at any time. (3) All quizzes, Midterm and Final Exam with multiple-choice, true or false, and fill-in questions, allowing student to take multiple times before the assigned deadlines to achieve a perfect score. (4) The semester long written, design and research projects, allowing students flexible arrangement for completion of home works. With all of the above well-prepared instructional materials, especially recordings of his lectures in MP 4 file format, students can be well prepared for each online class meeting via Zoom, to ask him questions from his lectures; for students who miss the class meeting, they can watch his lecture at home using the recording of his lectures, and ask questions through campus email system. In summary, Professor Lemmon’s pedagogy is very student-centered and helpful especially for long-distance instruction. His student-centered pedagogic practice will be incorporated into my K-12 Engineering Education project (The SCHOLAR STEAM K12Plus), and into my future teaching assignments at both high school and college levels.
My formats for the delivery of instruction shall include two categories:
Category One - Classroom-based Instruction: Available for schools located in Los Angeles County, California only.
- In Classroom Only: This format requires students to be present in the classroom during the scheduled class meeting times in the designated classroom.
- In Classroom + Online Live: This format allows students to either (1) be present in the classroom during the scheduled class meeting times in the designated classroom, or (2) to meet the instructor and the classmates at any place via ZOOM.
Category Two - Online Instruction via ZOOM or Other Tools: Available for schools located anywhere in the United States.
- Online TBA: This format requires students to work online independently each week for the amount of TBA (To Be Arranged) time shown in addition to completing assignments.
- Online Blended: This format will require students to (1) be online and interacting with their instructor during the scheduled ZOOM-based class meeting times and (2) to work online independently each week for the amount of TBA (To Be Arranged) time shown in addition to completing assignments.
- Online Live: This format requires students to be online and interacting with their instructor during the scheduled ZOOM-based class meeting times in addition to completing assignments.
Instructional materials typically will include (1) Syllabus, (2) Quizzes, Midterm and Final Exams (multiple-choice, True or False, plus write-ins; to be taken multiple times before the due dates), (3A) Pre-recorded Zoom-lecture Videos (created by the instructor, based on textbook chapters), (3B) PowerPoint files in PDF format, Lecture Notes and “Things to Remember” files related to lectures, (3C) URLs of YouTube video to be used as additional learning materials, (4A) assignments with associated zipped materials), and (4B) samples of assignments. All materials will be downloadable.
All instructional materials needed for meeting required Student Learning Outcomes to be posted online at start of semester/quarter/session. Extra credit materials to be posted after midterm. Extra credit learning materials will be offered to (1) advanced students for learning something more “challenging” as a “mini independent study” project, and (2) for students with lower than A or B grades up to Midterm to improve performance as a “make-up.”
Edward Locke's SuniSea Studio
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