Krishnasamy T. Selvan
Professional development is facilitated by reflective practice that includes a careful consideration of why we do what we do [1]. Thus, for a teacher, it may be useful to ask, “Why do I teach?” While being reflective might be a personal trait for some, when implemented as an intentional professional strategy, it can be effective in improving one’s practice in education [2]. Since higher education aims at the all-round development of students, such reflection should go beyond a consideration of teaching effectiveness [3] and look at deeper and ultimately more meaningful factors.
In this first part of a two-part series, five higher education academics around the world share their reflections on why they teach. This article, as also second part, is partly based on [4], with the contributions significantly revised to offer a better focus on the “why” of teaching. Moreover, some additional contributions are featured.
Editor’s Note
In conjunction with the “Young Professionals” column (where you can find part II of this article), in this issue we share perspectives from 10 educators from various universities and colleges around the world on what intrinsic and extrinsic factors motivate them to teach. In this reflective set of articles, we hope readers gain an appreciation for these factors and the impact on students and young professionals.
Karl Warnick, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT USA
My most obvious reasons for teaching might be grouped into two areas: what I can do through teaching and what teaching does for me (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Karl Warnick (right) interacting with students.
It is satisfying to know that students use what I teach them in their careers and further education. I am excited about my discipline and its body of ideas. I enjoy sharing those ideas with other people. Teaching is a job that allows me to provide for my needs and support a family, which is very important to me. It is energizing to interact with motivated students. And sometimes it is simply fun to have an audience.
But the pointed nature of the question “Why do I teach?” motivates me to try to look for a deeper context.
One of my university’s maxims is that as people, our purpose is to have joy. Life is challenging in many ways. It is not always easy to be happy when the days get hard. Despite the challenges, working hard to overcome the hurdles we experience in life can bring about true joy. This is partly due to the sense that as we move through life we are always learning.
I believe that learning is part of the purpose of life. No matter how old or young we are, we can stretch and learn new things to improve ourselves and the world around us. One of the wonderful things about life is that there is an effectively infinite amount of available knowledge.
It takes effort to learn, but the reward is a sense of joy that is hard to find in any other way. Essentially, that is why I teach: because teaching is a part of learning, and making the effort to learn brings joy.
T. Nandha Kumar, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
To start off, I will have to admit that the teaching profession helps me earn a living, but beyond that, I derive from it a unique sense of responsibility, satisfaction, and enjoyment in a lifelong learning process that continuously paves the way for the transformation of life, first within myself and then for the students whom I teach. To the best of my knowledge, other professions that I ventured into haven’t quite produced the same level of results.
Teaching is a mutually beneficial process where both the teacher and student learn from each other. So, as a teacher, it’s my duty to stay up to date with the latest developments in my subject. This responsibility comes with the job and is essential for providing quality education. Also, teaching improves my creativity in effectively communicating knowledge to students of different generations in a way that enables them to understand lucidly. Through teaching, I get the chance to gauge the students’ level of understanding and provide them with the necessary help to improve their understanding and appreciation for the subject. This eventually motivates the students to excel in the field of their work and therefore create a better future for themselves and the world, which is one of the primary/fundamental reasons why I teach.
Another aspect of teaching that drives me is the overall development of my students. Teaching offers an opportunity to help students develop holistically by discussing with them the importance of being responsible, honest, confident, and open. As a teacher, seeing the changes in my students, undertaking efforts toward their holistic development, and being on the right track to becoming responsible citizens provides me immense satisfaction and enjoyment.
Last, I find teaching to be a fascinating experience, as working with younger generations keeps my mind youthful and energetic.
Krishnasamy T. Selvan, Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, Kalavakkam, India
Reflecting on my goals as a teacher, I can segregate them into two categories: a set of specific goals and a set of broader yet equally important educational goals [5] (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Krishnasamy T. Selvan speaking to students.
With respect to my specific goals, the primary objective is to help students understand and appreciate the subject I teach. I derive great joy if I can get them excited about the subject, which makes the teaching process more enjoyable. There is also the long-term objective of contributing to the development of researchers and engineers who will go on to make quality contributions to the field, thereby nurturing it.
The broader educational goals include the development of intellectual passion in my students. This can in turn help them become lifelong learners who are reflective throughout their journeys. Most importantly, I try to help my students become enthusiastic individuals who cherish the activities they undertake, whether it is an assignment, a project, or a presentation, so that they can continue with this enthusiasm in their professions and lives.
While my approach to teaching is inspired by these objectives, the approaches I use to work towards their attainment are the following: 1) To remain a learner and to continually reflect on ways of improving delivery; and 2) to be enthusiastic in the class no matter what! This can be challenging at times, as moments of demotivation are unavoidable. But taking the effort to recover quickly—for example, by taking a recourse to faith—proves to be key in these situations. After all, recovering quickly is in my interest and therefore in that of my students! If I expect my students to be enthusiastic, I must set an example.
These approaches derive from certain core beliefs. I believe that education is vital and that effective teaching lies at its center. Good teaching plays a crucial role in society in direct and indirect ways. Educators thus shape the futures of their students.
Shreepad Karmalkar, Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, India
I believe that shaping minds is as important as building material facilities for developing a nation. Why do I teach? I teach to shape minds (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Shreepad Karmalkar.
By shaping minds, I do not mean creating copies of myself. Rather, I mean nurturing originality, open-mindedness, and integrity in students as per the motto, “Follow no one, but learn from everyone, and acknowledge it too.” Shaping minds also means developing the knowledge, skills, and attitude of students to solve practical problems encountered in their professional and personal lives. I shape minds by sharing my enthusiasm and expertise by means of conducting classes, guiding M.S./Ph.D. students toward their research degree, counseling B. Tech/M. Tech students in their academic and nonacademic endeavors, and advising sociocultural student groups.
While conducting classes, I strive to remove any fear students may have about the subject, and dispel confusions and misperceptions. Moreover, I aim to bring about intellectual clarity, arouse curiosity, and answer questions. I achieve this through lucid explanations, posing good quality problems, and providing students with ample feedback on their performance on these problems.
While guiding research students, I strive to help them develop as independent thinkers, rather than as efficient research assistants. Moreover, I try to enhance their critical and creative thinking skills, oral and written communication skills, experimental skills, interpersonal skills, and time- and resource-management skills. I achieve this by involving students in activities, such as reading and reviewing papers, making presentations, discussing various methods of solving a problem, and also teaching them how to choose a good research problem. When they perform these activities, I give them feedback on how they can improve.
While counseling students, I help them in exploring and deciding among options, in understanding themselves better, and in evolving strategies to face their personal issues. As an advisor in sociocultural groups, I support students in discovering their talents and in maintaining quality and order in their activities.
Finally, I teach because it helps me increase my research output. How? Teaching improves my own understanding of my subject. Good teaching attracts good research scholars. Stimulating questions from students seed research ideas. Teaching new students every semester breaks the monotony of concentrating on a research idea for a long time. Close interactions with a variety of students, over time, improves my understanding of human nature and makes me a better human being. Nothing could be more fulfilling and enjoyable than watching myself as well as the young minds I shape grow.
Ivan Gratchev, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
The world is filled with numerous academics who have their own distinctive methods of teaching. But at the end of the day, everyone unites over a common goal of passing on our knowledge and experience to students. In doing so, we empower students to develop skills necessary for their future careers.
As a student, I had big dreams in the world of civil engineering and wanted to develop innovative approaches to protect engineering structures from natural disasters. Yet, life had a different plan for me; it led me down the path of teaching. At first, I wasn’t sure about it because I had no experience and felt uncertain when I stepped into the classroom. However, at that moment, I also discovered a new passion and desire to share my knowledge with students. I realized that teaching presented an invaluable opportunity to contribute to our community in a different but equally significant way. As a result, teaching has become so much more than just a profession; it’s a journey of self-discovery and fulfilment that I enjoy every day. Over the past decade, I have improved my teaching skills, and with each passing year my enthusiasm for teaching has grown significantly. My purpose has evolved into empowering the engineers of tomorrow, making them industry-ready and critical thinkers so that they can produce a meaningful impact in the world.
One of the primary reasons why I teach engineering is the sense of fulfilment I experience when witnessing the growth of my students. I am delighted in seeing them grasp complex concepts, overcome challenges, and develop into capable professionals. I find teaching engineering incredibly rewarding because it allows me to share my knowledge with young minds who are eager to learn. It also allows me to have a positive influence on the next generation of engineers. I strive to inspire them to pursue their dreams, embrace challenges, and make a difference in the world.
In my classes I encourage active participation and discussions, fostering an environment where questions are welcomed. To engage my students effectively, I employ various teaching approaches, and among them, project-based learning holds a special place. Through hands-on projects, students gain real-world experience and learn to approach problems like engineers. This experiential learning instills confidence, teamwork, and critical thinking, preparing them for the challenges they will face in their future careers.
Teaching engineering has become an integral part of who I am. The joy of sharing my knowledge and contributing to the development of our community is immeasurable. I very much would like to continue to impart knowledge and inspire young minds, knowing that through their achievements, my impact as an educator will extend far beyond the boundaries of the classroom.
In part I of this series we have featured the contributions of five academics. A common aspect of these reflections is enthusiasm. Enthusiasm for the discipline and for helping students learn is part of the foundation for a reflective approach to teaching. As has been noted in [6], “teacher enthusiasm is central to providing an effective educational experience to students. While techniques can add value, it is enthusiasm that infuses life into our classes.” An enthusiastic approach may lead to one asking “Why do I teach?” As a practical tip, the other way round may work too!
In part II of this series we will hear from five more colleagues, and discuss some additional important common themes that emerge from the accounts of academic colleagues on why they teach.
The author thanks Karl Warnick, T. Nandha Kumar, S. Karmalkar, and Ivan Gratchev for enthusiastically accepting his invitation to provide contributions; Neha Rajan for a commendable editing of a YouTube video on the topic, which helped prepare the initial draft of part of this article; Karl Warnick for his helpful suggestions for improving parts of the manuscript; and S. Shyam Krishna for a careful proofreading of the article.
Krishnasamy T. Selvan (selvankt@ssn.edu.in) is with the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, Kalavakkam 603 110, India. He is a Senior Member of IEEE.
[1] K. T. Selvan and C. M. Furse, “Professional development ideas for students and young professionals [Young Professionals] ,” IEEE Antennas Propag. Mag., vol. 64, no. 5, pp. 122–127, Oct. 2022, doi: 10.1109/MAP.2022.3196844.
[2] M. Thompson, “Where reflection and motivation meet,” Professional Develop. Educ., vol. 36, no. 33, pp. 393–397, 2010, doi: 10.1080/19415257.2010.487323.
[3] G. Kelchtermans, “Who I am in how I teach is the message: Self-understanding, vulnerability and reflection,” Teachers Teaching, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 257–272, 2009, doi: 10.1080/13540600902875332.
[4] SSN Institutions. Why We Teach – Reflections of Higher Education Academics. (Aug. 13, 2021). Accessed: Oct. 7, 2023. [Online Video] . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSf5XZ5p0Tc
[5] Webinars in Engineering Education. Teaching in Higher Education: Why We Should Broaden Our Educational Goals. (Oct. 14, 2021). Accessed: Aug. 26, 2023. [Online Video] . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBGd0Dyj59I
[6] K. T. Selvan and K. F. Warnick, Eds., Teaching Electromagnetics: Innovative Approaches and Pedagogical Strategies. Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, 2021, p. 240.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MAP.2023.3320587