I have taught at SUNY Cortland since Fall 2005, mostly in the area of my expertise, educational technology. Every semester I have taught EDU 315: Critical Media Literacy: Education, Values and Society. I also taught EDU 651: Educational Methods, early in my Cortland career (Fall 2005-Fall 2009) and EDU 551: eLearning & The American Classroom (Summers 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015). I have been offering internship opportunities (CPV 400) to a great number of students who took my EDU315.
Evidence of my excellence in teaching strongly indicates my demonstrated and continuing ability to develop areas of instruction in a manner that is intellectually excellent and significantly effective in terms of student learning and that I make a “substantial contribution to the educational development of students.”
My teaching and research go hand in hand. A substantial portion of my research originates from my teaching, and my research enhances my teaching in turn. My career goal is to be a teacher scholar. The journal articles, book chapters, and book I have published related to my teaching innovations testify to my abilities and abounding passion for teaching and research together and are reflective of my pursuit of and dedication to the highest standards of instruction and innovation.
I provide a few examples of my teaching innovations below.
Book – Coming to the Edge – Journeys Toward Teacher Scholar
Chapter 3 Teaching: Honed at the Podium
This chapter is a true record and reflection of my work of as a Chinese-American in an American college. I did not go to elementary school in the United States, but my job is to teach American college students how to become effective elementary school teachers. In this task, I have encountered many challenges, including (1) maintenance of a dynamic curriculum design, (2) navigating ethical issues in teaching and learning, (3) facilitating the professional growth of my top students, and (4) maintaining positive relationships with students who do poorly. It is certainly not an easy job to be a good teacher in the United States! Fortunately, with generous support from colleagues, friends, and family, I’ve grown from merely surviving to a point where I feel comfortable and confident in my ability to excel.
- View an Overview of Chapter 3 Teaching: Honed at the Podium here
Book Chapter: Eight Teaching Strategies
As a reflective teacher, I strive for excellence in teaching through working meticulously and reflecting retrospectively on my curriculum development and pedagogical strategies. Eight strategies extracted from my teaching experience and illustrated with examples were published as a book chapter in the book Facilitating In-Service Teacher Training for Professional Development.
- Strategy One: Form a Positive Climate in Class from the Beginning
- Strategy Two: Create a Culture of Learning How to Learn
- Strategy Three: Model Extensively
- Strategy Four: Provide Concrete Evaluation Criteria
- Strategy Five: Define Some Projects Loosely
- Strategy Six: Teach Students to Take Charge of Their Own Learning
- Strategy Seven: Institutionalize Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Skills
- Strategy Eight: Encourage Students’ Reflections
- View the Book Chapter Empowering Digital Immigrants: Challenges and Solutions here.
Research Project: What Best College Technology Teachers Do?
The long-term objective of this research project is to systematically examine methods used by highly effective college-level technology instructors to improve training K-12 teachers in becoming leaders in integrating technology into their classrooms. As lead investigator I will identify individuals recognized for imparting a sustained and substantial influence on how their students think and act toward meaningful technology integration in K-12 classrooms. The study will use a qualitative method of inquiry that includes observations, interviews, and document reviews and literary analyses. A pilot study to acquire preliminary results and to test the feasibility of the proposed multi-variant methodology is outlined along with plans for a full-scale project. The results of the study will inform discussions and decision making for technology instructors and information technology administrators, both in the immediate community of SUNY Cortland and in the greater teacher education field.