Pedagogical Fusion

• Main Author: White, David Maurice
• Format: Others
• Published: VCU Scholars Compass 2007
• Subjects: teaching; acting; pedagogy; camera; theatre history; film; Arts and Humanities; Theatre and Performance Studies
• Online Access: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/993; http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1992&context=etd

During the five semesters that I have been at VCU I have learned a great deal from the courses that I have been enrolled in but I have learned the most through my experiences as a Teaching Assistant. These experiences have been so valuable because of the wide range of subject areas in which I have been involved and the diverse instructors that I have assisted. Although I hesitate to use the word "problem" I feel that there is a tendency in teacher training for a student to latch onto one professor and model their teaching practices after that one mentor. While this is not always a bad thing I feel that it can lead some students down a dead-end path of self-exploration and individualization of their personal teaching style. I feel that I have been given a rare and invaluable opportunity in that I have been permitted to assist so many different teachers in such a wide array of subjects. In this thesis, I propose to examine the widely varied experiences that I have had here at VCU as a Teacher and Teaching Assistant. I will look at the teaching styles that I have witnessed, the methodologies and approaches of each course, and most importantly I will put forth my personal teaching philosophy that I have developed from my experiences here at VCU.