Tonietta Walters' Faculty Web Page

Above and beyond, the profundity of my personal inquiry and academic interests, the choice of philosophy as a major area for teaching is a reflection of my desire to contribute to the success and development of post secondary students. Doing philosophy and by extension taking a philosophy course is, at bottom, about taking dedicated time to investigate individual thinking and conceptual frameworks. A philosophy course becomes an opportunity for comparing, contrasting and possibly revising a personal vision through learning historical and current theories. It gives me great satisfaction to be able to contribute in this way to the development or improvement of the critical thinking and logical analysis skill set of students. It is a large part of my teaching philosophy to use internet technology and reference to popular media, such as movies and video games, to augment and enhance the learning experience of the modern student. Referring to popular media gives the students an opportunity to become more aware of the relationship of philosophy to their everyday lives. In this way, they interact with philosophical theories in a familiar context as a foundation for more complex philosophical investigation.

I am additionally committed to teaching blended or fully online courses in addition to face to face courses. Contrary to appearances, the use of technology and the online environment actually facilitates a more individualized approach to teaching and learning. Modern students are familiar with the internet, online communication and do not view these as “distancing” themselves from human interaction but as a way to extend the type of interactions available. Delivering course materials in this manner allows each student to interact with the learning materials and professor in the way that is most comfortable and efficacious for them. If technology enhanced courses are structured properly [with set goals, learning outcomes, structured assignments, discussions and assessments] it allows the student the freedom to set the time and pace to be the most effective for their own style of learning. As such, interaction with the instructor is also more individualized and directed in addressing student needs. The student can interact with their instructor as much or as little as they feel is needed.

Increased learning occurs when a larger share of the responsibility of learning is place on the student and the “professor” becomes more of a facilitator to the learning process. Because of this, I attempt to foster a relaxed and nurturing atmosphere within my courses along with providing the feedback and resources that match and challenge the individualized pace of each student. Students are graded according to their individual abilities or efforts because ultimately success in philosophy is measured by increased critical thinking abilities and their own personal growth.