Patricia Diaz believes in incorporating soft skills like self-reliance, collaboration, and communication into her teaching philosophy. She ensures learners understand expectations through detailed course outlines and bases coursework on real-world situations whenever possible. Diaz also believes technology discussed in courses should be used in assignments and that learners should participate in developing and analyzing content. Her goal is to make learning fun and relevant to help students gain skills needed for constant updating in the IT field.

1. Teaching Philosophy - Patricia Diaz
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Although I have only recently transitioned into teaching, learning has been a lifelong
passion that guided me early-on, into a rewarding and enriching career in information technology
(IT). Yet, with all the opportunities and choices an IT career offers, I have seen little diversity in
those choosing this path. Through teaching, I hope to help change this, by serving as a role
model for women, and as an inspiration for others who may lack confidence to take this path.
The world of IT runs on adrenalin and can be characterized by competing deadlines,
ever-evolving knowledge in multiple domains, collaboration with diverse personalities, and
incessant technological change. In addition to technical knowledge and skills, success in this
field requires a high degree of self-reliance and self-direction, critical thinking, attention to
detail, exceptional communication skills, and a passion for life-long learning.
I believe that in addition to the core material taught in each course, these soft skills
should also be reinforced through a teaching philosophy that encourages self-reliance and self-
confidence; classroom activities that promote collaboration and communication, such as team
problem-solving and team projects; and a choice of independent learning activities, such as
preparing a PowerPoint presentation or answering essay questions. I ensure learners understand
expectations by providing a detailed course outline that explains expectations, assignments, and
how coursework is scored based on writing, critical thinking (application of ideas to problems),
scholarly (credible sources, APA style), and attention to detail (grammar, punctuation, spelling).

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I also believe that coursework should be based on current real-world situations, and
whenever possible, learner-selected. For example, in a recent undergraduate course in IT
Management, I asked learners to prepare a classroom presentation explaining how a company of
their choice used disruptive technologies to achieve a competitive advantage.
I believe that in technology courses, the technology being discussed should be
incorporated in coursework whenever possible. For example, in a recent undergraduate IT
introduction course, I incorporated Wiki pages with a team project so learners could experience
the mechanics of developing Wiki pages collaboratively.
I also believe that learners should participate in developing and submitting content, and
analyzing results whenever feasible. For example, in another recent IT Management course, one
of the topics was the use of metrics in measuring IT effectiveness. To apply this concept in the
classroom, I developed an activity in which we (the class and myself) developed key
performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of various assignments in the classroom. I
setup an online survey mechanism for learners to evaluate weekly assignments, using the learner-
developed metrics. Near the end of the class, the learners analyzed the data and discussed the
implications for improving various assignments, as well as how they might apply this process in
the real-world.
Finally, in IT where technology changes constantly, learners need to be prepared to
update their skills continually. Entering a field that is known to require constant skill updating

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requires an appreciation, and perhaps even a passion for learning. Thus, I believe it is important
to make learning as fun as possible, by offering learning activities that are relevant, hands-on,
rewards-oriented, and result in frequent ah-ha moments, in which clarity is achieved. I get a
tremendous sense of satisfaction, when learners report in the end-of-course evaluations, that they
learned something they can use to land their first IT job or become more effective in their current
IT job. I believe these ah-ha moments plant the seeds for a love of lifelong learning.