An effective teacher is one who can bring out the best in her students.  Academically speaking, the “best” is being the most receptive to learning and development in the University context.  While there are many ways of achieving this, I have found a couple of elements that help me in working well with my students.

An effective teacher is one who can bring out the best in you.  Academically speaking, the “best” is being the most receptive to learning and development in the University context.  While there are many ways of achieving this, I have found a couple of elements that help me in working well with my students.

First, and most broadly, good teaching must be a team effort.  The students and I each work to fulfill our responsibilities to reach our goals.  I create challenging coursework and provide clear feedback and students respond by investing themselves in the experience.  Another key part of making a successful “team” is setting high standards and giving students the tools they need to realize them.  In the end, if you have these ingredients for good teamwork, you have students who come away with a real sense of self-efficacy. 

First, and most broadly, success in the classroom requires a team effort.  We all must work to fulfill our responsibilities to reach our goals.   I agree to create challenging coursework and provide clear feedback if you agree to invest yourself in the experience.  I also agree to set high standards and I will give you the tools you need to realize them.  In the end, our work together will help us both learn and grow from the experience.

I have found that my students agree:

“The way Dr. Carmichael pushes us to be our best and challenges us in and out of the classroom in all of her classes, especially this one. Her encouragement and high expectations have pushed me to work harder and try harder in everything in my major and helped determine my goals going into the future” (PE 4820, Advanced Exercise Physiology Student Course Evaluation, fall 2016).

“The most valuable aspect was the high expectations that our professor wanted from us. For me, this pushed me to work harder in class and outside of class to make sure I knew what she wanted” (PE 3890, Exercise Testing Student Course Evaluation, spring 2017).

Those high expectations come with a gentle warning as well:

“Prepare yourself, Ryanne is coming” (PE 4770, Cardiovascular Physiology Student Course Evaluation, fall 2014).

Second, and more specifically, I also work to bring out the best in my students by employing well-rounded pedagogical strategies.  While I maintain a variety of approaches, the three areas I have found most useful are applied writing, laboratory practices, and research integration.

Second, and more specifically, I also work to bring out the best in you by employing well-rounded teaching strategies that I hope will benefit all types of learners.  While I maintain a variety of approaches, the three areas I have found most useful are applied writing, laboratory practices, and research integration.

My teaching statement goes on to explain how I find these approaches effective.  It’s interesting though to think about the statement in the context of this exercise – i.e. changing the audience to my students.  If I really was to do that, I wouldn’t be able to use any of this, I think.  Upon reflection, it feels like it was not written with them in mind which I understand is a ridiculous thing to say about a teaching statement!  This statement was written for my P&T portfolio – my teaching has evolved so much since then that I will be starting from scratch for my next edition.