What is your teaching philosophy?

My approach to student education has shifted from an emphasis on my teaching, to a more central focus on student learning, and finally to a more holistic realization that the two are inseparable aspects of the same whole. I would define "teaching and learning" much as I would define "communication" as a holistic process in which there is a co-creation of meaning between student and teacher. In order to accomplish this "co-creation of meaning," I struggle constantly to balance five basic classroom dialectics: giving knowledge and facilitating understanding; theory and application, helping and challenging; maintaining rigor and encouraging creative experimentation; and respecting and supporting a wide diversity of students and student needs while maintaining balance and fairness.