My Pedagogy

In disovering a pedagogy that I not only adhere to in my teaching but could also illustrate on a transparency, I reverted back to something I had actually learned in one of my undergraduate teaching courses at College of the Ozarks. I focused on my role as teacher and my relationship with my students.
I looked at three standpoints: the gatekeeper, the middle ground, and the coach. A gatekeeper is a teacher with a capital T. She is always behind the desk and the students are sitting in straight lines in front of her. Lecture is the only means of teaching. The grades are made to seem as the most important aspect of the course. I do not adhere to this style because I find it does not appeals to students' individual learning styles and it silences student voices.
Since I am the middle ground, I will come back and explain it last. Thus, moving on to the coach standpoint, the teacher is defined with a lower case t. The desks are all in a circle, and the teacher is apart of the circle - undefined in almost every way. The means of teaching is almost completely collaborative. The teacher only gives the students where to go to find the information and then they find it, and everyone teaches everyone else. The teacher is such a friend, that grades are made to appear to be almost unimportant. I do not adhere to this style because I feel the teacher needs to be some kind of authority in the classroom. Students want to be taught, and although collaboration does have a place, the teacher needs to be involved and give some instruction.
I adhere to the middle ground where the teacher is in front of the class, but the students are in a semi circle. The teacher teaches and lectures at times, but also allows for collaboration. The students have a voice and are encouraged to speak in class, but the teacher always sets the tone and directs. I think I have been using this middle ground theory in my classes. I find as the semester goes on, my role as a teacher is able to be able to move more from a capital T to a lower case t, but the teacher always has a teaching role. I try to not put ultimate focus on grades, but also not give the allusion that they are unimportant or that all students will magically earn an A.