My Teaching Philosophy
I have a dual passion for research and teaching, and thus I take the role of teacher as seriously as I do that of researcher. The effective synthesis of these two roles requires an application of my research skills and passions to a discovery of what enables students to learn course material, how to structure information, and how to assess learning adequately. My pursuit of scholarly teaching is guided by my teaching philosophy which can be summarized into three sections.
Student Involvement: Students ought to be engaged in meaningful discussion and application of course material. If education were as easy as reading a book and passing a test then all courses would be online. As a teacher, I assert a role beyond that of a dictionary and administrator: I become a guide. I believe that in order for students to truly understand and internalize course material they need to be engaged. To facilitate student involvement, I encourage every person in the class to participate and hold
everyone accountable for making class learning a success. Of course, it would be unfair to hold students accountable for participation if I were unprepared or failed to provide opportunity for interaction and application. Thus, an important precursor to student involvement is my own thoughtful preparation of discussion topics and learning activities.
Exposure to Contemporary Research: I think it is imperative for students to gain first-hand experience with current psychological research. Such exposure will give students insight into how research is conducted and where the field is headed beyond that which reading summaries of experiments in textbooks can provide. Thus, whenever possible, I encourage students to participate in psychological research and will provide incentive (e.g., course credit or extra credit) for doing so. I also think students should gain
familiarity with published research reports and scientific journal articles. I acknowledge that such a task can be daunting for the beginner, but depending on the needs of the class, I will provide help to assist student comprehension. Participation in and review of psychological research will serve as a springboard for discussion and brainstorming in order to connect students with research and show them how they might get involved in further advancing the field.
Respect and Accountability: I believe that every student can be successful. I also acknowledge and appreciate that students come from diverse backgrounds and have varying levels of capability which makes a “one-size-fits-all” approach to teaching inappropriate. I respect everyone and expect that in a classroom environment, everyone should do the same. However, respect for differences does not equate to preferential treatment. I view respect and accountability as complementary and believe they are the result of clear expectations and fair treatment. Thus, the first day of class and every day thereafter I try my best to ensure that students understand the guidelines for each assignment and procedure. Furthermore, by holding office hours and responding to student needs and communications in a timely, fair manner I demonstrate my sincere motivation to help every student succeed.
Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness
I have sought to develop my teaching skills through participation in various teaching workshops and experience. For example, I have participated in several teaching workshops, conducted by the Center for Teaching Excellence at Rice University where I was able to learn from seasoned faculty and staff how to involve students and enhance learning. These workshops allowed me to gain invaluable insight into teaching and to receive feedback on my approach to teaching and my teaching materials. In addition to these workshops, I have also attended several teaching seminars conducted by the Graduate Student Association of Rice University. These focused seminars have addressed topics including a variety of teaching techniques, understanding incoming freshman, balancing teaching and research, and other relevant topics.
While at Rice University, I have gained valuable teaching experience from which I have learned how to be an effective instructor and how to successfully balance teaching and research responsibilities. I have taught two different courses (Social Psychology and Introduction to Psychology) in the psychology department over a period of five different semesters. I was also given an adjunct faculty position at the University of Houston-Clear Lake to teach Organizational Behavior in their Business School. I taught this course during the spring semester in a traditional face-to-face format, and am currently teaching the course this summer in an online format. I had full course responsibility for all of these courses, including text selection, course design, lecture planning, preparation, and presentation, and test and quiz construction.
I have had the opportunity to teach a range of class sizes from 6 to 40 students. My courses are generally designed as a lecture format that incorporates class discussion and participation. For larger classes, I work to maintain students’ interest through active learning techniques, presenting engaging and current examples, and assigning purposefully designed work assignments and team work. In smaller classes, I typically include a writing assignment, and a semester long group project that requires students to synthesize the course material. My goals in teaching are not only to convey content knowledge of the specific course, but also to develop the critical thinking skills of the students and to motivate the students’ desire to learn. I strive to maintain challenging yet attainable expectations, of which students are often eager to achieve. Students have reacted very positively to my teaching and I have consistently received high teaching evaluation ratings. A summary of course and instructor evaluations are presented in the table below.
Summary of Course and Instructor Evaluations
| Semester | Course | Instructor Effectiveness | Course Quality |
| Summer 2014 | MGMT 4534 Organizational Behavior (UHCL) | 4.7 (4.1) | 4.7 (4.0) |
| Summer 2014 | PSYC 101 Introduction to Psychology (Rice) | 4.9 (4.2) | 4.4 (4.1) |
| Spring 2014 | MGMT 4534 Organizational Behavior (UHCL) | 4.2 (4.1) | 4.0 (4.0) |
| Spring 2014 | PSYC 101 Introduction to Psychology (Rice) | 4.1 (4.2) | 4.1 (4.1) |
| Summer 2013 | PSYC 202 Social Psychology (Rice) | 4.4 (4.2) | 4.3 (4.1) |
| Summer 2013 | PSYC 101 Introduction to Psychology (Rice) | 4.7 (4.2) | 4.6 (4.2) |
| Summer 2012 | PSYC 202 Social Psychology (Rice) | 5 (4.2) | 4.8 (4.2) |
Note. Evaluations based upon a 5–point scale (1 = poor and 5 = outstanding). University means for the semester in which the course was taught are in parentheses. UHCL = University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Here is a summary of a few student comments from some of my evaluations:
Organizational Behavior (Online) – Summer 2014
“Mr. Randall was an amazing teacher! He was quick in responding back via email and always left comments on our assignments to let us know if we were on track with our information. This is rare and very much appreciated. He also encouraged the group projects and made it easy to take an online course. Will definitely take a class from him again!”
Introduction to Psychology – Summer 2014
“Jason was open to questions and thoroughly addressed every question that was asked. He was also very personable. Good course – I learned more than I expected and I believe that what I learned was more useful than I had expected.”
Organizational Behavior – Spring 2014
“Overall, I enjoy your class and enjoy the subject quite a bit. It gives me a different perspective of things which really helped me open up my abilities to be an effective leader and mentor.”
Introduction to Psychology – Spring 2014
“Jason Randall is a very good professor. He doesn’t bog down slides with unnecessary information, he asks a lot of questions to engage students in discussion, and overall he’s just a very nice, chill professor.”
Social Psychology – Summer 2012
“Jason explained concepts well, engaged the class, and his lectures were enjoyable. Jason was an excellent speaker and he threw in current events along with psychological studies to illustrate the concepts we learned. This is a class everyone should take.”