Teaching Philosophy: Non-Traditional Students Amber Stubbs Ed.D

About Me

I am an online educator and wellbeing specialist because I love everything about learning and personal growth! Personal growth and learning are my first loves; supporting others to achieve their life goals, learn, and grow are my passions; and online education and wellbeing consulting are the outlets for my practice! My education includes a Doctorate of Education Organizational Leadership, Master of Education with a Specialization in Human Resources Management, and a Bachelor of Arts-Psychology. My research is focused around wellbeing in the context of work and online education. The following slides explain my personal teaching philosophies. Enjoy!

Non-Traditional Students (NTS)

Any student that identifies as any one or more of the following categories is non-traditional:

* part-time* returning (re-entry)* commuter* veteran* works full-time while enrolled* has dependents other than a spouse/partner* does not have a high school diploma (completed a GED or equivalent or did not finish high school)

http://www.nodaweb.org/?page=network_non_trad

Teaching Principles and Foundations for NTS

Principle 1: Student Health and Wellbeing is my number one priority.

Principle 2: Lesson plans are experiential, useful, and practical for NTS.

Theoretical Foundation 1: Self-Determination Theory

Theoretical Foundation 2: Bloom’s Taxonomy

Theoretical Foundation 3: Experiential Learning

Health and Wellbeing

Students are encouraged to personally collaboratively develop healthy learning plans that promote work life balance with fellow students and the instructor.

Students work autonomously while being supported by others through a respectful connection based on teamwork with continuous feedback from instructor.

Course due dates are flexible to help promote work-life balance.

Individual learning plans are provided upon request to assist students with applying course concepts and learning objectives at work or in their community.

Experiential LearningKnowledge is continuously gained through both personal and environmental experiences. Kolb (1984) states that in order to gain genuine knowledge from an experience, certain abilities are required:

The learner must be willing to be actively involved in the experience;

The learner must be able to reflect on the experience;

The learner must possess and use analytical skills to conceptualize the experience; and

The learner must possess decision making and problem solving skills in order to use the new ideas gained from the experience.

Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential Learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. p. 21

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is the process of making meaning from direct experience, i.e., "learning from experience”

My personal philosophy is to create experiential learning exercises that engage and encourage students to autonomously perform at new and higher intellectual levels.

Bloom’s Taxonomy and Self Determination Theory are the theoretical foundations used to guide, motivate, and encourage cognitive, personal, and professional development among NTS.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

http://www.redwoods.edu/Departments/Distance/Tutorials/BloomsTaxonomy/bloomstaxonomy_print.html

Self Determination Theory (SDT)

“Conditions supporting the individual’s experience of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are argued to foster the most volitional and high quality forms of motivation and engagement for activities, including enhanced performance, persistence, and creativity. In addition SDT proposes that the degree to which any of these three psychological needs is unsupported or thwarted within a social context will have a robust detrimental impact on wellness in that setting.” Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory.

SDT References

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.