Jennifer Hitchcock
Teaching Philosophy
“I felt that my teacher was great. She used many different learning strategies.”
“The class gave me skills I can actually use in life.”
Student learning happens through multiple means and on different levels. In addition to
using a variety of formats to address students’ different learning styles, teachers should also
consider the different types of learning that can occur in a course. Educational studies reveal
that students learn more by actively participating than by simply memorizing information
(Prince, 2004; Bean, 1996; Bonwell and Eison, 1991; etc.). My pedagogical goals are for my
students to move beyond learning information and acquiring skills to become critical thinkers
and lifelong-learners.
“My critical thinking has improved tremendously. Before I lacked that ability.”
Today’s globalized, postmodern whirlwind of abundant and conflicting information requires
citizens who can sort through this information overload and discern well-founded ideas from
unsupported opinions. In order to help my students acquire the analytical and rhetorical
skills they need to be effective writers, critical thinkers, and productive citizens, I use
discussion and journal writing to examine ideas, pose problems, and offer questions for their
thoughtful consideration and to address course learning goals. In addition to informal athome journal responses that ask students to consider overarching questions of the course and
their relation to course readings, real-life events, and student experiences, I also often
introduce learning outcomes and course topics by having students respond to questions
through brief in-class writings. For example, to address the learning outcome of rhetorical
awareness and its importance to effective writing, I assign a supplemental reading about
rhetorical situations, have students respond by describing rhetorical situations in their own
lives outside of the classroom, and then we discuss how to relate these concepts to rhetorical
situations encountered in writing—both in the college classroom and in the real world.
“I enjoyed learning about the writing process. How everything works and why is
something I like to learn about...The class definitely helped me master the course
goals.”
“I liked the discussions because we got to talk about what we are learning. [This]
made the class more hands-on and interesting.”
Since students learn best through doing, I give my students ample writing assignments
through which to hone their writing and thinking skills over multiple drafts. I also require
that students review each other’s drafts and collaborate to give constructive and thoughtful
feedback on peer review group members’ drafts. Through this activity, not only do students
get feedback from each other, but they also gain useful strategies for revision that they can
then apply to their own writing.
“My favorite would have to be the essays as they are engaging, introspective
prompts. The essays certainly helped to reinforce topics and helped with real world
application.”
“The class has taught me to see all sides of a situation before deciding.”
Jennifer Hitchcock
I expand my students’ repertoire of analytical skills—preparing them to both write and
analyze information in their daily lives outside of academics—by incorporating a variety of
media texts in my classroom, including advertisements, speeches, websites, news articles,
and video clips. Media literacy, the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate
messages in a variety of forms, is essential for full and effective functioning in our
increasingly digital culture. No matter whether a student is writing an academic essay,
creating a web page, discerning the validity of information on the internet, analyzing the
arguments presented in an advertisement, or producing a digital video project, they must be
able to understand and apply rhetorical expertise and conventions. My students examine,
evaluate, and compare websites as part of the research skills unit, and I also often incorporate
video clips from cable news or advertising to demonstrate the use of rhetorical appeals or
logical fallacies.
“The best part of this class is the essays. The topics were broad enough that you felt
free with your choice, but narrow enough to keep you focused.”
In my student-centered approach to learning, I allow the students a degree of choice in
assignments and class procedures. Even when I give students a specific writing task, they are
able to have broad leeway in choosing the subject of their essays with guidance from me as
necessary. For example, for the final research paper in my English 112 course, College
Composition II, I give students three broad topic options and work with them to tailor a
specific topic to their interests. For end-of-the-semester group projects and presentations, I
also give several topic options to choose from and encourage student groups to develop a
creative presentation in a format of their choice. By relinquishing some of my power in the
classroom, students not only feel more invested in their learning, but they learn to take more
responsibility for their own choices.
“I enjoyed the discussions and writings on controversial topics. This helped me see
new views and helped me strengthen my own through writing techniques.”
“My favorite part was the assignments and how they really made me think about
what I was doing. It definitely helped me master this course.”
Just as reflection is important to student learning, I believe it is also the most important part
of being a good teacher. By keeping a journal of my observations about the effectiveness of
my assignments and activities and getting periodic feedback from my students, I am able to
adjust my strategies and methods to accommodate their needs during the semester rather than
after the fact. Every class of every course is an experiment in teaching and learning, and as a
reflective practitioner I can learn from every student.
“Professor Hitchcock led really good discussions and got the whole class to
participate.”
“I loved how Mrs. Hitchcock is very approachable and how many times I have been
able to meet with her outside of class.”