Professional Certification:
Georgia Registered Forester #1147
Professional Memberships:
Society of American Foresters www.safnet.org
Georgia Forestry Association www.gfagrow.org
Council of Eastern Forest Technician Schools www.cefts.org
Teaching Philosophy:
I believe that most students learn best by doing, rather than by simply listening. Incorporating the "hands-on" approach has never been a problem for me. Since I teach career-technological students in a scientific discipline, my courses have necessarily had a large ratio of laboratory to lecture time. However, some lecture is inevitable. A teaching strategy that I employ regularly during lectures is to ask the students how they would suggest a particular task might be done most efficiently, rather than beginning by telling them how that task is normally accomplished. This gets them involved, and thus promotes learning - both by holding their interest in the lecture and by teaching them to rely on their current knowledge and a logical reasoning process to solve problems. Skill in problem solving is something that employers value greatly, and I stress this constantly.
To motivate students to learn, I incorporate examples and incidents from my professional experience (both previous industrial experience and continuing consulting activities), examples related to me by previous graduates of our program, and conversations I have regularly with employers of our graduates. I am firmly convinced that these illustrations are a powerful tool in motivating my students to learn information and techniques for which they see no immediate application.
The following statements describe my beliefs about the process of teaching others.
A teacher should respect his students and deal with them fairly.
The importance and application of subject matter should be explained before asking students to learn it.
Students should be taught to think rather than memorize.
Students should be challenged to do their best, rather than perform just well
enough to "get by".
A teacher should always do what he believes is ultimately best for his students, regardless of their desires in the particular matter.
Learning is enhanced by a teacher's regular and appropriate use of humor.