Teaching philosophy and the PGCHE journey
I have started my Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) at the University of Birmingham as a part of my job and professional development in teaching. This programme is a Master-level programme for academics at the university.
Along the journey to complete this degree, there will be 10 formative assignments (or they call “patch”). For the first assignment, or the first patch, we were asked to write our teaching philosophy… This sounds simple because it is somewhat personal. However, I found it quite challenging as I never have time to sit down with myself and think about this before. This assignment, therefore, provides me with a good opportunity to reflect on my belief and aspiration as an educator. Also, this will be a personal record to reflect the change and development of my perspective after I approach the end of this degree.
The following is my reflection on “what I think” is my teaching philosophy. I conceptualise teaching as a continuous journey of learning and sharing… This piece of writing does not fully reflect what I have achieved or what I am now! However, it more or less reflects who I aspire to be and things I want to achieve from my point of view at the current stage. This view, I presume, is subject to change along my PGCHE journey… However, I would like to share and record my current view and thought here …
The continuous journey of learning and sharing
“There are many stereotypes and pre-conceived notions of accounting and accountants that students bring with them to their first accounting class” (Abbott and Palatnik, 2017, p.15).
This statement reflects one of the main issues in teaching accounting, especially the technical aspects of the subject.
I am aspiring to be a teacher who is innovative, approachable and not boring. The ultimate aim of my teaching is to make students learn how to think, instead of merely teaching them the technical and academic aspects of things. This is a challenging task, especially when it comes to teaching financial accounting and bookkeeping (of course I am not only teaching this, but also teaching other subjects!!). Also, the rapid technological change in teaching and learning platforms and the technology advancement in real-life business world urge the need of change in the way accounting is taught. This means the way I learnt accounting years ago might not be the best way to teach my students.
Good teacher from my point of view
Sometimes thinking about my own experience of learning helps me improve my way of teaching; however, doing that makes me assume all students have the same learning preference as I did. This way of thinking neglects the facts that there are different types of learners, and also different types of teachers.
I believe that good teachers are the ones who can respond to the needs of all types of students, and are open-minded to learn new ways of teaching. Hence, teachers help students learn, while they are learning with them in this rapid-changing environment that affects higher education.
Considering all stakeholders’ needs and benefits
The awareness of different types of learners helps teachers think beyond their students to other stakeholders and think about themselves. It is important not only to make students enthusiastic about the subjects, but also to maintain teachers’ enthusiasm about the subjects and the teaching itself (Dahlstrom and Akerlind, 2011). Thus, teachers need to have confidence in themselves and in their areas of teaching so that they can sustain students’ enthusiasm and fulfil the goals of different stakeholders (e.g. institutions, job market, parents, and the society at large). Hence, academic staff, especially ones in early career, needs support technically and mentally (Krebs, 2011) so that they can deliver good teaching and learning experience.
With confidence, willingness to learn and knowledge in the subject, accounting educators can teach students how to think beyond the numbers, and respond to the expected shift in expectations from the job market by developing courses and teaching orientation that are more interdisciplinary and analytical. Such learning and teaching structure makes universities the “spaces where critical and creative thinking can be encouraged” (Graham, 2013, p.125). They are no longer merely a place that produces “programmed social agents” to function in the society without challenging it (Graham, 2013, p.125).
References
ABBOTT, J. I. & PALATNIK, B. R. 2017. Students’ perceptions of their first accounting class: implications for instructors. Accounting Education, 1-22.
DAHLSTROM, J. & AKERLIND, G. 2011. The what, why and how of inspiring learning In: HAY, I. (ed.) Inspiring Academics: Learning With The World’S Great University Teachers: Learning with the World’s Great University Teachers. McGraw-Hill Education.
GRAHAM, C. 2013. Teaching accounting as a language. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 24, 120-126.
KREBS, D. 2011. Extending the reach of higher education inside and outside the classroom. In: HAY, I. (ed.) Inspiring Academics: Learning With The World’S Great University Teachers: Learning with the World’s Great University Teachers. McGraw-Hill Education.
There are 10 assignments, or 10 Patches, in total for this PGCHE course. Here are the list of all the patches I have blogged.
Patch 1: Teaching Philosophy
Patch 2: A Reflective Teaching Journal
