"A poor teacher complains, an average teacher explains, a good teacher teaches, a great teacher inspires." - H. Narasimhaiah


My thoughts on teaching and learning

I believe teaching and learning is a three way process. The teacher sends out information, the students receive. To actually make it a three way process, the students have to provide feedback. With three steps processed, the learning cycle is complete.

I try to banish the thought among them that I am the "teacher" and students are the "learners", hence I like my class to be interactive. I try to make my every class interesting, as boredom is a student's worst enemy! Hence, I speak with great passion and enthusiasm and add a little humour in class. My students are often encouraged to provide examples and views, engage in discussions, to think critically and to contribute knowledge to everyone in class, including myself. With this approach I hope students can learn to be independent learners, making them realise that exploring and acquiring new knowledge is not done during college days alone - it is a lifelong process.

Aside from understanding theory and concepts, I emphasize a lot on practical as well. In-class exercises is a norm to have during my tutorial classes. This hones their skills in softwares and allows them to utilize such tools when needed. I set the bar very high - my expectations from their works are the same as what the industry expects from them. I make them realize that the real-world will not accept mediocre work and that they have to give it their very best in each and every project.

My teaching methods

Lecture sessions

My lecture sessions begin with a revision of the previous lecture, where I will pose questions to students on what was covered during the previous week. If students find difficulty answering my questions, I do not provide answers, but instead provide hints, examples and challenge them to think harder for the right answer. Once I receive an accurate feedback, I will elaborate on the answers given, briefly reminding them on what was presented the last session. I find that this approach greatly increases their retention rate and encourage students to revise the lecture notes prior to my next session. I will then proceed with the day's lecture. My lecture sometimes begins with a short video clip that is relevant with the topic of that day. It will then be followed by a brief discussion with the students on the video, before I present to them the day's outline and objectives.

I make it a point to include interesting information in the lecture. Statisics, images, relevant comic strips, trivia questions etc. I present facts and ideas to them in small bits and chunks, to make the learning process easier for the students. Occasionally, I also include examples and tell stories to allow students to understand a topic better. I pause my lecture for quick discussions with the students, asking their opinions, views etc on different aspects of technology. This pushes them to think critically - my aim is to ensure students do not merely memorize the facts, but actually grasp the concepts presented to them.

Tutorial sessions

All the tutorial sessions for my subjects are very hands-on, where students are required to learn new softwares in the computer lab. Class control is usually very difficult when classes are held in a computer lab, as students will be tempted to surf the internet, check their e-mails or chat with their friends during lessons. In every class, I make it a very strict rule to ensure everyone is only working on the software and nothing else. They are also prevented from touching the computer while I explain in class. This made sure that students are attentive during class and will not miss out important steps. To teach a new feature or tool, I will explain the uses and purpose of performing a task in the software. The explanation will be followed by a step-by-step demonstration. Students will observe and attempt on their own on their computers. While students try it out, I will personally assist the ones that are having problems catching up.

A few new tools/features will be introduced in each tutorial session, followed by an in-class exercises which requires them to make use of the tools taught for that day. Such exercises will be submitted to me during the following tutorial session.

Consultation sessions

Consultation sessions are available for students, where I provide feedback to their assignments from conceptual stage to execution stage. I make myself available for consultation purposes to ensure I am accessible to the students. I challenge students to be creative and think out of the box. It is compulsory to show some progress for every visit, as this will force them to get started with their assignments - not procrastinate and end up submitting mediocre work. My golden rule is to provide sufficient feedbacks and advises on how to improve their works, but never to limit their creative freedom. I strongly believe tertiary education is the best time for them to grow with their own ideas and not be limited by too many rules and restrictions. I truly enjoy such sessions as I am able to give individual attention to every single student, thus getting to know each of them better.

The use of technology

As a computer lecturer, it will be no surprise that I heavily use technology to enhance my teaching. Note that I mentioned enhanced, not replace. I believe using technology actually allows students to understand things bettter, encourages collaboration and ease teacher-to-student or student-to-student communication.

My first effort of implementing technology for teaching and learning is the use of video tutorials for students learning Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver. Such tutorials provide them with my explanations on the interface and tools within the software, followed by step-by-step demonstrations which were presented during class. Such tutorials were a great help for students, as they could revise back on what was covered during class whenever they face a software problem at home. Students are also encouraged to e-mail me directly if they face problems they can't solve and I make it a point to reply back to them with answers the soonest possible.

The college uses Blackboard as our learning management tool, where students may access announcements and lecture notes uploaded by their lecturers. I am taking it a step further by building websites for each of my subjects (this is still a work-in-progress), not only for putting up course information, but to include various e-learning features under one page, such as blogs, discussion forums, chatrooms, videos, podcasts, quizzes etc.

To this date, I am still exploring the possibilities of integrating technology into teaching and will gradually add elements of e-learning into my teaching.