Westminster Lecturers Dr Setenay Dilek Fidler and Dr Gustavo Espinoza-Ramos cowrote an article for THE Campus on how to be a more authentic teacher and the benefits it can bring to teacher-student relationships.
Dr Fidler and Dr Espinoza-Ramos said: “We have often heard the word authenticity bandied about in different disciplines. We now have authentic leadership, authentic assessment and much more authentic practice besides. The word authenticity is defined as real, genuine, true, accurate and original. So, at its most basic level, being an authentic person means being yourself – a complicated task, especially if you are a teacher.”
They emphasised the importance of being knowledgeable, approachable and passionate about one’s subject matter. Some strategies to achieve authenticity included learning student names, utilising storytelling, continually developing expertise and consciously setting up a classroom to achieve desired outcomes.
They conclude: “It’s important to remember that being ourselves as teachers is something that we develop with experience and by slowly reshaping our teaching values.”
Lecturers Dr Fidler and Dr Espinoza-Ramos are module leaders on the Business Management BA Honours course at Westminster Business School. Dr Fidler’s current research interests include highly qualified migration/mobility, diversity, internationalisation of higher education and human capital development. Dr Espinoza-Ramos’ research explores the contribution of community partnership to the development of Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) initiatives in the Peruvian Mining industry. His other research interests are international development, well-being and the use of technology in pedagogy.
Read the article on THE Campus.
