Teaching Philosophy

Faculty members in the School of Arts & Sciences are excellent teachers because they are committed to their individual subject areas, student engagement and student independent learning.

Commitment to the Subject Area

Professors in the School of Arts & Sciences demonstrate a general knowledge of foundational concepts in their discipline and a deep knowledge of specific parts of the field. In the arts, the best instructors are themselves excellent performers and across the liberal arts, the same holds true. Faculty members who love learning set the tone for students in their classes, regardless of whether they’re teaching a first-year general education course or a senior research seminar.

Commitment to Student Engagement

The School of Arts & Sciences’ most effective faculty members create a learning environment that welcomes a diverse group of students from different cultural, educational, social and personal backgrounds; they then modify their teaching practices to address their students’ needs. Understanding students’ backgrounds allows professors to make connections, leading students from familiar territory to new fields of inquiry.  

Where appropriate, professors pay particular attention to student writing and expression, providing carefully constructed essay topics, clear explanations and directions, substantive commentary at critical junctions in the writing process and informed peer reviews. Faculty also continuously look for ways to engage students in interdisciplinary work—either through the creation of new courses or through designing assignments that encourage students to apply abstract concepts to real-world problems.

Commitment to Student Independent Learning

The best teachers inspire their students to ask the type of questions that require in-depth, well-researched answers. Professors take pride in mentoring these students and helping them formalize research projects and performances across the disciplines.