My Teaching Philosophy

Last spring, I decided to put together a document that explains my teaching philosophy & practice to students in my classes. Here’s what I came up with:

Teaching Philosophy & Practice
Dr. Angie Ward

Welcome to my class! I look forward to getting to know you better in the weeks ahead. I love what I do and am grateful to be able to teach at LBC | Capital. Past students have said that my classes are challenging, they learn a lot, and we have a blast during the on-campus residency. I hope you will have a similar experience.

To help you succeed, I’ve outlined my philosophy, expectations and commitments below.

• I start out each class assuming you are able to do “A” work. Everyone starts with a clean slate no matter how they did in a prior class with me.
• I expect you to work hard. This is graduate school, in an accelerated format. We are cramming a normal 15-week course into only six weeks. That means there is absolutely no time for any of us to procrastinate.
• I expect you to take responsibility for all deadlines and due dates. I will not hold it against you personally for turning in late work but you will receive a late penalty as described in the course syllabus.
• Please communicate with me as soon as possible about any conflicts or issues that may arise that would affect your ability to complete coursework as assigned. I am quick to give grace to those who demonstrate proactive communication. In other words, in this case it is much easier to get permission than forgiveness!
• Good writing matters as much as the content of your work! I expect graduate-level writing. Proofread, have someone else proofread, use the spelling and grammar checks, follow the APA Style Manual. Consult the Purdue Online Writing Center (OWL, https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/) and the book “Stylish Academic Writing” to improve your writing. Poor writing will negatively impact your grade.
• Due to the condensed nature of blended courses, attendance for both days of the two-day residency are expected and required to pass the course. Exceptions will only be granted for extenuating circumstances.
• My commitments to you:
  • I will treat you with respect regardless of your gender, age, ethnicity, political or theological perspective, or sports rooting loyalty. However, if you are a Duke fan I may have to pray for God’s help with this.
  • I will come to class (both online and on-campus) prepared and ready to give you 100%.
  • I will respond promptly to your communication. Guaranteed response time is within 24 hours but normally I will reply within hours or sometimes minutes.
  • I will also grade and return your work promptly and with comments that are intended to help you learn and grow for future assignments, classes and ministry. I generally grade smaller assignments (e.g. journals) within 48 hours and larger papers/projects within a week.
  • If I don’t know the answer to a question, I will do my best to find out.
  • I will give the same amount of dedication to the course that I expect from you, in other words 100%.

Again, I’m glad to have you in class!