Statement of Teaching Philosophy
James A. Cross, MS, CSP, CFPS, CHMM, REM
Associate Professor, Oklahoma State University
My teaching philosophy reflects many principles I have learned that have kept me focused on being the most competent and knowledgeable engineering professional I can be. These principles have shaped the person I am and they help me in my efforts to positively influence students to strive for their personal best.
My teaching goals are:
To mentor willing students and help them as much as possible to find their path to personal success. Students in the FPST program often begin their studies with a particular career goal in mind, and later discover they have a broad range of interests and capabilities. Helping them find and nurture their strengths better prepares them to be flexible in their career choices and competent in their work. It is time well spent to get to know the students in the program. It helps when placing students in internships, introducing them to working professionals, helping them with class scheduling or tutoring, and offering them encouragement to continue striving when the educational tasks before them seem too difficult.
To encourage students to look for and understand the “why” of any situation or problem. It is not sufficient for an engineer to simply know how things work. The engineer must understand why things work the way they do. If an engineer becomes mired in a stale mindset of doing things a certain way “because the code/standard says” they will lose their ability to see “the big picture” or be creative in their work. The understanding of why things work the way they do helps to open up one’s thought process to more effective, efficient and appropriate methods of accomplishing tasks and solving problems.
To help students understand the economic principles of cost, performance, and schedule. When students enter the workforce with a lack of understanding of these principles it greatly hinders their ability to be effective in their jobs. A Safety Engineer who presents an equipment purchasing plan or a cost estimate for some proposed engineering modifications is likely to be unsuccessful in selling the idea to management if they have not considered the economic impact of their proposal. Management may not understand the importance of a project or see the need for it if the concept is not presented to them in terms they understand: How the project will affect the cost, performance, and schedule of their organization.
To cultivate in students a lifelong desire to learn and improve themselves.
To encourage them to learn as much as they can about the disciplines related to their field. The engineering disciplines of safety, environmental science, fire protection, and industrial hygiene are interrelated and students who do not learn this limit their understanding of, and ultimately their effectiveness in, their work. Students must also learn about related fields such as management, industrial engineering, architecture, electronics, and medicine. This helps prepare them to be more adept at problem solving and it helps them to be able to work more effectively with other professionals outside their discipline.
To encourage students to apply themselves seriously to the core concepts they study while in college. These concepts include math, chemistry, technical writing, physics, economics, and social science. These form the foundation of all the learning yet to come for the student, and the better they understand these basics the better they will understand the coursework in their major.
To encourage students to focus most on understanding the material that they are to learn in a given class, and less on the grade they hope to get. The grade received comes from the student’s ability to understand and properly apply the material to be learned. Worrying about a grade is natural, but it can cloud judgment and hinder the clarity of thought process needed to successfully learn the material and complete the course.
To inspire in students a will to succeed. An engineer cannot shy away from a problem because they do not understand it or don’t know what to do with it. Having a will to succeed can help drive the desire to understand, which can eventually bring a solution to the problem at hand. Students must want to achieve if they are to make the most of their lives.
To encourage students to find and pursue areas of research interest. Personal research endeavors are important for advancing scientific knowledge, presenting information for formal publication in peer-reviewed journals, preparing one for graduate studies and research, or for simply increasing ones knowledge of a specialty area within a field. One of the best times to begin the pursuit of research interests is during one’s undergraduate education. The FPST program has knowledgeable professors and a state-of-the-art lab facility. The students’ learning environment is conducive to finding and conducting interesting and relevant research and the faculty are committed to helping new researchers be successful. A student’s research work is often rewarding both during their time as a student and as they utilize their special knowledge of a subject to advance their chosen careers.
To deliver the technical content of a course with a heavy focus on concepts and communication of the relevance of those concepts. The content of class lectures must be closely relate to the experiences of lab activities. Students should learn how to both define and solve a problem. There must be a balance between individual effort and team effort. Lab reports, exams, and research assignments should be relevant to course content and actual situations that may be encountered in life.
To fairly assess academic performance. Students should receive the grade they earn based on their ability to correctly complete the stated objectives of assignments and to correctly answer questions on an exam. Exams, assignments, and lab activities must be related to the course textbook, lab manuals, course syllabus, and the learning objectives given by the instructor.
To encourage students to take pride in their work. A student can learn the mechanics of writing or problem solving from a book or with the assistance of a teacher or another student, but ultimately their work must stand alone as their personal achievement. Having a sense of pride in one’s personal accomplishment builds confidence and promotes originality.
To encourage a strong sense of ethics. A student’s personal reputation is one of the most important aspects of their life. A good reputation is earned and maintained through the actions and behavior of the individual. Once this reputation is tarnished or destroyed it is difficult or impossible to rebuild. A good reputation will withstand many trials, but a bad reputation leaves no room for success. Most employers expect professionalism and strong ethics from their employees. Just as the engineer represents the organization and casts a positive or negative reflection on it by their behavior, so students represent the program and the University and must conduct themselves accordingly. I do not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty such as plagiarism or cheating.
Many teachers and mentors have shaped my teaching philosophy. I owe much of my success in life to them, and I consider it part of my responsibility as a teacher and engineering professional to honor them by passing on to my students what they taught me.
