No matter the nature of the assignment, students are taught to seek the right answer in the most direct manner. In this age driven by state assessments, students are encouraged to find what???s considered to be the correct answer quickly with little room for exploration or a deeper level of critical thinking. Students are often encouraged to get from point A to point B in a quick and efficient manner without stopping to discover along the way. Although students achieve their goal of completing an assignment in a timely manner, the writing that results lacks originality of thought that can only be discovered through exploration. As an adjunct, I stress the importance of exploration for the good of my students??? creative and academic endeavors. These efforts make both of us not only better students, but help to ensure that we can increase of knowledge in all areas of our lives no matter what path they may take. I believe that teachers who demonstrate curiosity and passion about a subject area motivate students to learn. I believe that W.B. Yeats captured the exhilaration of teaching when he wrote: ??? Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.??? My philosophy of teaching is to create an environment that allows for supervised exploration. I believe that learner-oriented teaching promotes learning that is both purposeful and enduring. However, to really transition from a teacher-centered learning environment to a more learner-centered environment, students must identify learning needs in themselves, and assess their own progress. As an adjunct instructor, I encourage my students to participate in active conversation about literature as well as their own composition process. In my opinion, first year students will benefit more from an instructor who will listen in addition to guide them towards a more cohesive writing style that will last throughout their collegiate and professional careers. In summary, the learning process is enhanced by??? a collegial relationship between teacher and learner??? evident pride in scholarship by the teacher??? challenge of the learner???s knowledge??? clarification of underlying structure by the teacher??? mutual feedback.

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