INTRODUCING CARINA BUTTERWORTH
My Narrative
I decided to set up this webpage to introduce myself to my network, my students, potential employers, volunteer agencies, family, and friends. I love networking and getting to know people with all different interests and ideologies. I love learning and participate in many different activities myself to keep learning more. This page will describe who I am as a mother, an educator, a PhD student, a volunteer, and who I am in my spare time. It will describe my philosophy in each area and why I believe in the work that I do.
MY LIFE PHILOSOPHY
Learn By Doing
I’m an explorer, dreamer, developer, thinker and so much more. Every project I’ve taken on was guided by my curiosity, motivation to learn, and diligence. I use this space to showcase my current and past work, to detail upcoming plans and to make my presence felt in the world. I’m constantly changing and evolving, so what you see here today might not be here tomorrow!
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My life philosophy is 'learn by doing'. I love taking courses to learn about myself, learn about my strengths, develop my skills in new ways, and find out what I am truly passionate about. I also believe that the best way to learn about other people is to immerse yourself into their culture and life. We are all human and have so much to share with others; and this sharing will help remove the fear of other cultures.
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My top five personal values are:
1) Learning
2) Courage
3) Persistence
4) Connection
5) Gratitude
MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
'Teaching is not filling up a pail, it is lighting a fire.'
–William Butler Yeats
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Learning doesn't stop in classes. It needs to continue outside of class and leave the student thinking. If there was anything that I learned in my masters is that one needs to constantly ask questions. If one doesn't understand the expert, ask more questions. The learner needs to have an openness when new information is provided, but still be skeptical. I am a believer that those questions will lead to a passion for the information and inspire deeper learning.
I also believe in learning communities - both on and off line. There are so many opportunities in a course to have students work together - whether it is solving mathematical equations, writing tests (yes, I said it!), and doing projects. Even just exploring the material that is presented in class is an opportunity to hear other's interpretations and insights. As an instructor, I am there to help guide the conversation, but not to "fill the pail".
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Choice in my class is also a great way to engage the students. They get to choose the overall weighting of their assignments, they can choose which assignments they want to do, and they can choose the topics their projects will be on. Every project leads to a different methodology, which is exciting to adapt all my classes to enhance the educational experience for each student. I love designing projects to have choices in how the student prepares it. Honestly, grading these projects when I don't know if I'll be getting a video, poster, presentation, comic strip, or website makes my job so much more fun too. When the students can decide what they want to do that works the best towards their own strengths, it provides them a platform to showcase that.
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I change things and do different things every year. The constant adaptation of assessments and teaching methods are from feedback and reflection. I believe it is essential to reflect on new research and how the students responded to each new technique. It is essential to my own learning in education that I do so to continue to grow and adapt with my students.
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I believe this has been a successful tactic with 9 nominations for the Teaching Excellence Award over the past 13 years. I hope to inspire passion and joy of learning and that my students walk away wanting to answer more questions outside of the course syllabus.