Statement of Teaching Philosophy
Hedieh Shadmani
“Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember, Involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
Over the past three years of teaching economics, I have been told by many students that “economics
is scary” and that they “just want to pass”. I wonder why economics, which is fundamentally
concerned with the world students live in, and with the behavioral decisions students make every
day, sounds so abstract that most students leave economics courses and never come back again. As
an economics teacher, my primary goal is to change this perspective, and inspire students to learn
economics. I want to make learning economics a pleasurable experience. In order to achieve this
goal, I have employed a set of strategies not only to convey the economic concepts in an
understandable manner, but also to encourage students’ curiosity and desire to understand the world
around them. Pre-planning the course, creating an active learning environment, and developing
strong interactions with students are three important features of my teaching philosophy.
Effective planning for the course is essential if one is to be a successful teacher. During my first
few sessions of teaching, I realized how improper planning and lack of preparation on my behalf
could confuse students, and adversely impact their overall understanding of economics. Since then,
I have been trying to not only clearly design the course syllabus and plan for the whole semester,
but also to pre-organize every single day of class. Before each class, I spend some time thinking
about the topic of concern, the real examples that students can relate to, the alternative techniques to
present the material in a coherent, organized, and understandable manner, and class activities to
promote student engagement. My typical class starts with a daily outline, a brief summary of the
last lecture, and an example or question which promotes creativity and helps ingrain the topic in the
students’ minds. I make the objective of each lesson very clear, and I give students some time to
think about the topic and share their ideas. I try to find interesting real-world examples to encourage
students’ curiosity and hunger to learn what is happening around them. Then I elaborate on and
guide them toward the main points of the concept. Holding students’ attention throughout the
lecture and avoiding confusion and boredom was initially a real challenge for me as a young
economics teacher. However, over time, I realized that effective preparation and good planning can
alleviate this challenge, improve my ability to communicate clearly, and make me feel more
confident as a teacher.
Creating an active learning environment is another important element of my teaching strategy.
While a certain amount of course-related definitions and memorization is necessary for economic
courses, I avoid writing definition after definition on the board, and being the single speaker in
class. I prefer to use different learning approaches to promote student engagement rather than letting
them be passive listeners. I often use problem-based learning. That is, after each lecture I typically
provide students with some group activities or problem-solving examples which reinforce the
concept they have just learned while I monitor them and guide them to find the answer. I have
found this approach much more effective than memorizing all the abstract details and definitions
which will be forgotten a few weeks after the final exam. Moreover, while I am teaching I present
the information in ways which actively involve students in the learning. I look at all sides and
encourage students to predict what will happen next. I ask many “why” questions to see if the
students are following along. In order to keep them interested and involved, I take every opportunity
to relate the material to the students’ world and ask them about their actual experience. For
example, when I teach opportunity cost, I ask them what they would do if they were not in class at
that moment. I include a lot of pictures, photos of famous people, or short video clips of a popular
series or a movie in my lecture. I found these techniques very useful for first breaking up the lecture
and giving the students some time to think about what they have just learned, as well as cheering up
the class.
Finally, I develop strong interactions with my students not only inside, but also outside the
classroom. I have learned that students feel more secure and motivated if they can easily approach
their teacher. Therefore, I make myself available to them even outside of my office hours. I do my
best to help them answer their own questions. I patiently listen to them and try to address all of their
concerns. I keep track of individual progress and give them constructive feedback on how to study
more effectively, how to take the tests and how to improve.
Above all, I believe teaching is a skill that can be developed over time. My experience has made it
evident to me that every single class teaches me something new. I have no fear of learning and
applying new teaching techniques to my class and to see what works and what does not. I constantly
seek students’, and other teachers’ feedback for improvement purposes. I know this road never
ends, and I strive to amass as much knowledge and experience as I can to achieve my primary goal.
When I see the desire in my students to analyze and understand the economic phenomena, I feel my
goal has been accomplished.