Welcome to the philosophy page of my portfolio.

Philosophy of Teaching Statement

I have been a teacher for over half of my lifetime. That’s a long time! The teacher that I am today is not the teacher who I was when I began my career. My path toward learning how to teach is one that is now very familiar to me because I walk down that road every time that I am in a classroom.

I am a teacher who has taught students at all levels and all ages. My life’s lessons that inform my philosophy of teaching come from teaching experiences in elementary, undergraduate and graduate classrooms. I have discovered that regardless of my students’ ages, a few common goals always emerge: to help them learn the most that they can learn and to help them become the best individuals that they can become in the short time that I spend with them as their teacher.

Students first! This idea is at the core of my philosophy of teaching. When I first began my teaching career, my focus was on lesson objectives and activities, and while that was and is certainly important, I have realized that I must put the students, rather than the lessons, at the center of my focus. One of the most compelling aspects of my job is to get to know every student as a learner. I ask myself: Who are the students? What do my students find important? What has happened and is currently happening in my students’ lives that might impact their learning? You see, I believe that if I take time to know my students well, then I will be able to identify their strengths and challenges. And it is only in knowing students’ strengths and challenges that I can achieve my goal of maximizing their outcomes.

Listen, listen, listen. I have learned that perhaps one of our greatest challenges as teachers is to talk less and listen more. I believe that students need to express their own ideas and opinions and teachers all too often provide little time for shared collaborative conversations in college classrooms. Students like, and need, to have time to make connections with what they already know and have experienced to new content and concepts. In this way, I align much of my teaching practices to constructivist approaches. I believe that students understand new ideas by making sense of them from past experiences and knowledge. I believe that it is important to provide time for students to listen to other students and for me to listen to them. What I didn’t know in my early years as a teacher that I know now is that students reveal much about themselves with what questions they ask, when they ask them and how they ask them. Perhaps equally important, I have also realized that students tell a lot about themselves when they aren’t asking questions as well. So, at times during my instruction, I reflect on what questions aren’t being asked, and what students aren’t asking questions. Answers to this inquiry help me to find ways to connect with students who need to be heard but are not comfortable asking someone to listen.

Powerful Planning. At times, professors approach me and ask if they can visit my classroom to try to identify a practice in my teaching that will improve their own instruction. When they say that they’d like to visit my classroom, I respond: Of course you can sit in on one of my classes, but I’d like to take a minute to ask you how your planning is coming along. I ask the professors to take some time to discuss the ways that they plan for their students’ learning and the considerations that they make when thinking about upcoming lessons. I believe that planning is one of the keys to success. I once heard a saying that went something like this: People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.  In my current job, I teach undergraduate and graduate students to teach in elementary education classrooms. My intention is for them is to become the best teachers they can be for their future students. I realize that I don’t have a long time to work with them - every lesson and interaction counts. So, I carefully plan each lesson. Careful planning means that I must include current research on teaching and learning and implement classroom activities that help students to understand and retain new knowledge. I have come to realize that planning and implementing sound pedagogical practices can help me to reach this goal.

Great Expectations! One time one of my students commented, “Dr. Rombach is a tough grader, but cares like no other.” I have expectations that in students’ eyes, that initially unreasonably high, but throughout the courses I teach, I provide support structures that help students to be successful such as creating and using detailed assignment descriptions and grading rubrics, provide time for individual conferencing, point out useful online resources, and create peer study groups. All of these structures serve as scaffolding that help students frequently mention my courses’ value in their later careers.

Community Matters. I believe in inclusive education practices. Including all community members in learning activities establishes a cohesive, collaborative cohort. The social construction of knowledge allows for each community member to learn from others. My professional teaching goal is that my students become aware of the need to work toward creating an equitable society for all. My work is to have students understand the importance of teaching for social justice in and out of school environments. 

Acknowledge and Appreciate. Everyone needs to feel appreciated. I realize that the quantity and quality of work that I require my students to complete is more than they may have had experience completing in the past. I ask myself, how can I require the type of assignments that I create AND have students feel that the work that they complete is worthwhile. I have found that one of the most important things that I can do is to acknowledge students for their time and effort that they give to my course requirements. I take time during classes to thank them for active participation, time spent on completing assignments and for their in-class contributions. A key to my instruction is to always find something that each student does well, and begin by appreciating that trait by saying so.

Keep Learning.
Each day, possibilities exist for advancing my understanding of teaching and learning. I believe that it is critical that I welcome this ever-changing process with an open door for change and continual growth. Research on teaching evolves and changes and I believe that it is imperative that I continue to learn new effective methods of teaching to help me maximize student learning. I believe that every day provides me with a new opportunity to learn a little more about teaching and a little more about myself as a teacher. The process never ends.