As a counselor educator, I believe it is my mission to create and maintain an environment that facilitates learning through multiple avenues such as lecture, discussion, group activities, and peer relations. In addition, I enable students to learn outside the classroom by providing opportunities that requires research and experiential exercises. An emphasis is placed on development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.  My goal is to provide students with tools to acquire, synthesize, and critically analyze information. With these tools, I desire to challenge students to question their beliefs and ask why is what they are learning important and how can it apply to their personal and professional lives.

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             I am a life-long learner and I strive to pass my passion onto my students by developing an environment in which students are engaged in the co-creation of their active learning experience to find their own passion.  Through experiential lessons and activities, I allow students opportunities to understand, explore, evaluate, synthesize, and apply the knowledge presented.  Teaching from a constructivist pedagogy I implement the 12 constructivist teaching interventions suggested by Brooks and Brooks (1999).  With this perspective students are challenged to examine and explore their personal beliefs and this self-awareness is a contributor to attitude change. 

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​             My role as educator in the learning process is that of a facilitator and co-creator of knowledge with my students.  From a student-centered perspective, I allow students to be an adaptive learner and co-developer of goals and objectives within reason to accomplish the intended learning outcomes of the course.  I strive to establish and maintain a safe environment that students can engage, explore, understand, analyze, debate, synthesize, and apply their new knowledge.  I am a role-model, mentor, and at times an expert.

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             When I design a teaching experience I integrate different methods such as teacher-centered, learner-centered, content focused, or interactive/experiential (MacAuliffe & Eriksen, 2010).  My preferred method is interactive/experiential because it is a mixture of the other three methods.  I first identify the learning objective(s) or key concept(s) I want my students to gain.  Once I determine this, I am able to plan backwards to include relevant and appropriate information to build a foundation of knowledge.  With this foundation, I take into consideration what resources are available such as the textbook and primary resources.  After a thorough review and researching, I then decide what information is crucial and to how it will be incorporated to further the understanding of the objective. 

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​             As I proceed through my steps of what information I want to share, I discover ways that I can create teaching experiences.  Depending on the course I am teaching I will find ways in which the information will be relevant and applicable to the students by bridging topics to the student’s personal and professional life.  Additionally, I use my personal and professional experiences to supplement teaching.  I determine what is appropriate to share by reflecting on how I can improve a lesson.  A priority in designing a lesson is to encourage student engagement and critical thinking.  I design a lesson based on my intended outcome, such as if I can include group or peer work, role-play, lecture, guest speaker, or other forms of collaborative learning. I strive to be flexible to allow the student’s questions and responses direct the lesson. 

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​             Furthermore, with my teaching experiences, I juggle a balance of focus on the development of the counselor in training and the wellbeing of the client.  The reason I emphasis the wellbeing of the client is because our professional development is a never-ending process and I want students to be cognizant of their client’s health as they are continuing to develop after graduate school. Comparing myself as a counselor and educator I find parallels in the learning process and therapy process. 

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            Finally, students are the expert of their own learning and I am facilitator of knowledge and self-awareness as we co-create the therapeutic/learning process.  I believe the product will grow organically through the authentic nature of the learning process.  I have a plan and structure for the lesson, however, if the students take the class in a relevant direction I will not stunt their curiosity and engagement.  Obviously, there are ethical limits and as the instructor I take my role seriously and will expect professionalism in the classroom and interactions with students.  My courses are structured and developed in order to satisfy CACREP competency standards as well as meet University, ACA, and CACREP ethical standards. 

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Reference

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American Counseling Association (2014). ACA code of ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author.

https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf

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Brooks, J. G. & Brooks, M. G. (1999). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms. ASCD.

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Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. (2016). 2016 Standards for Accreditation. Alexandria, VA: Author.

http://www.cacrep.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2016-Standards-with-Glossary-7.2017.pdf

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McAuliffe, G., & Eriksen, K. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of counselor preparation: Constructivist, developmental, and experiential approaches. Sage.