Teaching is a collaborative process between educators and their students, and it works best when both parties have clear expectations and make solid commitments towards their respective roles. I view my role in this process as a facilitator of learning, someone who, while having a higher level of subject knowledge than my students, is consistently gaining new insights due to an interactive classroom dynamic. Even in high-enrollment courses, I encourage discussion, debate, and questions. I also encourage students to think of themselves as active participants in the success of their academic experience. This success, I emphasize, requires good attendance, engagement, receptiveness to feedback, meeting deadlines, and intellectual rigor. 

Students also need exposure to hands-on opportunities to make connections and find deeper meanings within the course materials. Consequently, I creatively and flexibly integrate life experiences and case studies into classroom discussions with small groups and individual students. I encourage students to pose thought-provoking questions and conduct further research when they are unsure of the information provided to them. I believe that such an approach is conducive to instilling confidence in students’ critical thinking abilities.