Therrill Valentine, Ph.D., P.E. - Teaching Philosophy

An educator’s teaching philosophy is the set of aims, beliefs, and principles that determine how he/she will instruct and mentor his/her students.

My fundamental belief is that the practice of engineering as it has evolved in the last 100-150 years has contributed to enormous strides in improving the quality of life for many of the peoples of the earth and has the potential of continuing these strides to include all of the peoples of the earth.  I count it a blessing in my life that I have been able to witness and participate in these developments.   My goal is to impart this enthusiasm for engineering and its potential to my engineering students as I help them develop the technical competence and the critical thinking skills necessary for a successful engineering career.

I treat all of my students with respect and as young professionals.  I believe in the ability of all of my students to master the fundamentals of the material in any course that I am teaching if he/she is motivated and has sufficient work ethic to apply the effort needed.  The material is presented as both fundamental concepts and as problems illustrating these concepts.  In Electrical Engineering the pace of developments in technology make it necessary that today’s fundamentals be mastered in order to be capable of assimilating the advances of tomorrow.  I utilize my own experience as a practicing engineer involved with the rapid advances in computers and communications to emphasize this need.

To enhance the student’s productivity in mastering these concepts I take advantage of the tools that technology provides to as great an extent as possible.  The discipline of being a part of a classroom environment is still very important.  The availability of a textbook is still very important.  Additionally, the internet is used as a source of excellent alternative treatments of much of the material and to provide additional materials where needed.  Powerpoint presentations are used where appropriate to augment “chalk and blackboard”.  Computer software systems are used for complex computational problems, for simulations, and for written and oral presentations by the students.  The Blackboard Academic Suite is used for communicating course material, for some online testing, and for organizing grades.