T he Facult y Corner K ar en B ur g ar d
How long have you worked at Texas A&M- SA? This is my third year here at A&M-SA.
What is your favorite part with working with A&M-SA students? Being part of the campus community is incredibly important to me. I enjoy attending the events on campus during the day as well as in the evenings and on the weekends. I also really enjoy representing A&M-SA out in the community attending local events in San Antonio proudly showing my Jaguar spirit. So, I would say what I contribute to the campus is my commitment to University, our students, and our community in all aspects of what I do.
Describe your teaching style? Getting to know the students and building relationships with them. I enjoy learning about their professional goals, their personal goals, what is important to them, what their hopes and dreams are for the future. Making a connection with my students and helping them succeed in all the ways that are important to them is, without a doubt, the best part of working at A&M-SA. I want my classroom to be a place where all my students feel like they have a voice and that voice matters. I try to create a space where every student feels welcome and that their thoughts and opinions have worth. So, all my teaching starts from that core philosophy. I like to use both small and whole group class discussions. I have my students write and research enabling them to connect their classroom learning to their future careers as educators. And most of all, I want my students to enjoy learning in my class. We laugh. We celebrate each other’s successes. We collaborate. We reflect and discuss. We engage in ideas. So, I have fun in my classes, and I hope my students do as well.
If you could be on any reality tv show which one would you choose and why? Cupcake Wars (or really any of the baking reality TV shows). I would be the helper/ assistant person who puts things in the oven and then brings them over to the real baker who knows what they’re doing.
What is one piece of advice you would give to TAMUSA students pursuing a College of Education degree? I would tell any student who is pursuing an education degree two pieces of advice one deals with life on-campus and the other is outside of campus: 1) Go to your professors’ office hours. We want to see you and talk with you and help you succeed in any way we can. It is so important to come meet with us, ask us questions that you have about our class, get help from us when you need it, or just to build relationships with us. So, go see your professors. 2) I would recommend substitute teaching or volunteering in the schools anytime that you are able to do so. The more experience you have in the schools as you progress through our program, the easier it will be to connect what you’re learning in class to real-world experiences.
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Being part of the campus community is incredibly important to me. I enjoy attending the events on campus during the day as well as in the evenings and on the weekends.
