Thomas Weston Adams III has over 11 years of experience teaching a variety of subjects. He believes that engagement is key to helping students shape their world. His teaching philosophy stems from his own passions as both a student and teacher. He has received several teaching awards and also mentors other teachers by helping them integrate new technologies into their classrooms. Adams teaches communication skills using extemporaneous methods that require flexibility. He brings a globally-minded perspective from his experiences studying and teaching abroad. Adams is passionate about applying his technological knowledge to teaching in new ways.

1. Passionate Teacher / Passionate Learner
Thomas Weston Adams III
years
teaching
classes
taught
overover
award-winning
teacher
passionate
technophile
teacher
mentor
globally-minded
traveler
11
80
Engagement is not just a buzz word to me. I’ve made teaching a part of my life
because I believe that I can help my students engage and shape their worlds.
My teaching philosophy is an outgrowth of my passions. I’ve chosen to engage
the subjects and issues that relate to my hopes and dreams both as a student
and as a teacher. Teaching has given me the chance to perform my passions,
to practice what I preach.
• 2015 Critical Thinking Teacher of the Year Honoree
• 2014 Teacher Who Made a Difference Award Winner
I help teachers teach better! In my role as faculty mentor I’ve brought teachers
and technologies together, and I helped teachers integrate these technologies
into their classrooms and curricula. Most recently I worked with Pearson to
help teachers implement technologies in their classrooms. Teaching teachers
takes an enirely different set of skills, a skillset I’ve enjoyed building.
I’ve been teaching communication, speaking, writing, rhetoric, and relationships
at the university level since the fall of 2005, and I’m ready for more! I teach
using extemporaneous communication as both method and goal. This requires
instantaneous adaptation to a situation and an undeniable comfort with
contingency. It has been at the core of my teaching philosophy for over eleven
years and has been a defining part my life since I competed in it during my first
year of high school. It’s the way I teach, it’s the way I learn, and I believe it’s one of
the things that will make me an invaluable teammate. Many people claim to work
well on their feet, but I’ve been trained in contingency, and I’ve taught the kind of
flexibility required for success in today’s ever-changing communication contexts.
I’ve studied abroad, I’ve taught overseas, I’ve worked to create my own study
abroad programs, and I travel every chance I get. I can’t help but bring a globally-
minded approach and an open-minded traveler’s perspective to everything in
both my professional and my private life.
I have extensive hands-on experience with various online and offline teaching
and communication technologies and learning management systems both
inside and outside the classroom, and I strongly desire the opportunity to
apply my knowledge in new ways.