Johnathan Yerby​

Aggregating my experiences as a student, professional trainer in a corporate setting, a technical college instructor, and a professor in a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program my primary strategy for teaching is to combine theory with real world experience. I am an advocate for learners constructing and contributing to their own learning experience. I believe it is crucial that students are able to develop critical thinking skills related to theoretical knowledge while also being able to learn what they will encounter in their future professional and personal lives. In my experience I view information technology as a lab science where learners must be given an opportunity to connect to the concepts by being able to apply complex ideas to realistic problems that they will face today and in the future. In my teaching I like to add hands-on activities followed by opportunities to reflect and understand how the hands-on activities relate to the theoretical principles. I aim to enable learners to think critically for themselves and to be reflective on experiences that they may be able to apply to future scenarios.

 

It is important for the instructor to maintain the attention of the students by maintaining a healthy discussion and keeping the learning opportunities relevant. I try to keep class interesting by using appropriate humor and discussing current events. Education can and should be fun and entertaining while still getting all of the objectives met. Varying teaching methods can help keep the subject matter interesting while promoting student engagement and active learning. I rarely spend an entire class period lecturing. Instead of speaking at the class, I prefer to involve the class in discussions and presentations where students can share past experiences, opinions, and even be involved in respectful civil discourse. When possible I get to know each learner and understand ways to motivate and encourage them to connect to the course. Problem-Based Learning makes a great way to stimulate active learning by challenging students to solve multi-faceted problems that they are likely to encounter in their future career in information technology or business.  Instructors must respect and promote intellectual and cultural diversity of students and identify opportunities to add to the learning experience by allowing students to share their point-of-view.