Aspiring professors will get a chance to critique a crucial aspect of their portfolios in the Teaching Philosophy Peer Review put on by the graduate school Monday.

Professors from the College of Education shared thoughts and ideas in regard to teaching philosophy and explained its importance. A teaching philosophy allows a teacher to find their view on education so that it can be applied in the classroom.

“I make a distinction between what it means to educate and what it means to train,” Paul F. Bitting , associate professor in the College of Education, said.

Bitting explained that training is a tool used for a specific job while education is a more broad term.

“[Education is] just generally connected to what it means to be a person,” Bitting said. “Education is directly towards simply making people better as people.”

A person’s teaching philosophy must be consistent with their philosophy of education, according to Bitting.

Gerald Ponder, associate dean of the School of Education, summed up his teaching philosophy into three main phrases: outcome based, active learning and value added.

“I start planning with the kinds of things I want students to know, ” Ponder said. “Rather than sitting and listening to lectures and things, they should be engaged.”

“I think it is the job of instructors and courses of study to add value to their students capacity to perform whatever the field is,” Ponder said.

Ponder said he applies his three points to the classroom.

Alex Thomas, a sophomore in chemical engineering, is currently taking a course on the philosophy of education.

“I prefer the teachers that want me to learn and want me to come to class for the sake of learning, not for the sake of passing the course,” Thomas said.

A teaching philosophy acts as a guide for a teacher. It is a map reminding professors how they would like to educate their students.

“To me, a teaching philosophy is how you think kids learn and what approach to use to meet their needs so that they can learn,” Candy Beal, associate professor in the College of Education, said.

Beal explained that to her, it is important to understand that it is the students a professor is teaching. She interacts with the students by asking them to write her a letter in the third person, which allows her to learn about the students.

“I try to be as flexible as possible when assignments are due,” Beal said. “If someone has a problem or is overloaded, I can take a paper late; it’s not a big deal.”

Beal explained that understanding students is of utmost importance to her teaching philosophy. The connection between students and teachers are the foundations of education.

There is no wrong teaching philosophy and it is clear that no two professors share the same exact one.

A description on the Peer Review’s event page explains, “Writing your teaching philosophy is one of the most challenging tasks you will do when developing your portfolio. It is also the most important.”

A teaching philosophy is a crucial factor when applying to become a professor. It will not only decide where a professor teaches, it will decide what becomes of their students.

When asked if he had advice for future students, Bitting said that students should find a sense of the world, what they want it to become and what their students want and apply all of these together.