MKOEN Teaching Philosophy with Summary Evals docx

MARTHINUS KOEN TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
My ultimate teaching goal is for students to become hard-working, competent, and well-educated
criminal justice decision makers and members of society. This goal requires an approach that
includes a variety of educational strategies that encourage students to become hungry for diverse
knowledge and leave them with an ability to form and articulate their own, educated world
views.
In my opinion, it is much easier and yet less rewarding to encourage students to remember
definitions than it is to get them to understand the systems and processes that those definitions
represent. It is a bit more difficult to help students understand what certain concepts look and
feel like in “their world”. Therefore teaching requires more than an understanding of content, but
also requires a full understanding the social reality of your students. Teaching should be seen as
a “conversation” instead of a one-way “lecture”. Thus I try build rapport with my students,
whether it is through casual discussion before the start of class, online surveys, or in-class
discussion. I have learned in my experience that understanding how students see the world, helps
me more effectively involve them in the material.
When I teach Research Methods, I administer a Blackboard survey to my students at the
beginning of the semester that asks them about their expectations of the class. As can be
expected, with a class like Research Methods, most students express that they expect the content
will be dull or boring, while others are intimidated by the subject matter. Knowing this
information, I have implemented strategies to make the class more approachable. One strategy
includes sharing various drafts of my own research instruments with students and affording them
the opportunity to critique and ask questions about the instruments. I take this time to discuss my
own research with them and how I conceptualized and operationalized my measures in addition
to the justifications behind my research design. In my view, this strategy involves them in my
thought processes and experiences as I constructed my instruments. Moreover, it provides them
with rich examples of how the content they have read about in the textbook is materialized in the
real world.
Another core ideal that drives my pedagogical approach is to prepare my pupils for life after
higher education. Students do not just pay dearly for a higher education to gain abstract
knowledge, they must also prepare for life in the workforce. Therefore, it is imperative that
educators instill certain values and develop skills that are important in the “real world”. These
include values such as self-reliance, proactivity, fairness, and timeliness; and skills like writing,
comprehension, problem-solving, and public speaking. I believe that I accomplish this in the way
I structure and administer my classes.
It is important that my students be independent, self-reliant, and proactive, therefore, I provide
them with a clear, concise, organized, and structured syllabus that include all important
information regarding project, paper, quiz, or exam criteria and due dates. The syllabus should be
a tool that empowers students to be self-reliant instead of having to rely on the instructor for
administrative information such as due dates. Much criminological literature emphasizes the
negative impacts that institutionalization has had on inmates returning to society, it would be

hypocritical of criminal justice educators to institutionalize students in the way they administer
their classes.
In addition to developing such values, students must also become proficient in comprehension,
critical thinking, and writing skills. In my Research Methods classes I assign “Article Briefs” to
encourage students to exercise these skills. I require students choose and read any 2 of 20
research articles that I provide. They are required to provide a quick summary of the purpose of
the study in addition to what the research questions are and must discuss the methodology and
justifications in detail. They must identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the
research methods and explain their opinions. Lastly, and most importantly, I require that students
discuss and explain how future research can build on the current research. In my opinion, this
exercise helps students think critically about the subject matter and forces them to apply the
knowledge that they have gained in the class to more specific issues. Furthermore, mandating
them to read research articles in conjunction to the textbook helps students develop a more
comprehensive understanding of criminology and its underlying evidence-base.
I tend to carefully embrace new technology. I hardly believe that technology on its own can
make me a more effective educator, but I do believe that technology facilitates an opportunity to
improve upon my craft as an educator. I use technology as a means to track and monitor student
progress, encourage participation, learn students’ perspectives, provide examples, and self-train.
An important factor in a student’s success, is the ability for a teacher to promptly provide grades
and feedback to them, therefore I use platforms like Blackboard and WebCt to record and keep
track of student grades. Furthermore, technology such as Blackboard has helped me learn the
perspectives of, build rapport, and encourage participation with my students. This is especially
helpful when I am teaching 100 to 200-level classes with over 100 students enrolled at a time.
Tracking in-class participation would be a difficult task without an assistant, but tracking survey
completions on Blackboard is a much more efficient task. I often share survey results with my
students in which gives them a sense of where they stand among their peers and offers another
opportunity to prompt in-class discussion.
Online surveys are also a very valuable tool for getting quick and direct feedback on my own
performance as an instructor. In addition to survey results, I often audio record my lectures and
review them as a means of self-training. Between student responses on surveys and audio
recordings, I can gain a more complete understanding of my strengths and shortcomings, which
leads to me to devise and monitor improvement strategies.
On a philosophical level, instructing students requires discussion that facilitates critical thinking,
analysis, and synthesis of ideas. Students must refine and build upon the knowledge they have
gained from previous classes, the textbook, and parallel knowledge; and be able to express and
justify their own ideas. Achieving this will requires discussion-based classes that facilitate the
refinement of existing knowledge and the generation of new knowledge. This hold especially
true for graduate-level classes. Discussions in graduate-level classes, in my-opinion should not
only be led by the instructor but must also be led in part by the students. Being both a leader and
participant will give students a chance to discover and develop their own teaching styles and
research interests.

In closing, teaching will never be “work” for me, I would do it for free if that were possible.
Teaching helps me actively participate in the learning process which reinvigorates my hunger for
criminology and ultimately helps me enrich my knowledge. I have developed my talent for
teaching tutoring my fellow students as an undergraduate, instructing inmates as a volunteer, and
teaching several classes at George Mason University and would like to build on this as I improve
my craft. I want to provide students with an environment that encourages them to think critically
about past and present issues in criminal justice and criminology and help them grow
intellectually to become proactive, committed and engaged members of society and criminal
justice decision makers.

MARTHINUS KOEN STUDENT EVALUATIONS SUMMARY
CRIM 315 Research Methods Summer 2015
Number of Responses: 15
Overall Course Rating MKOEN: 4.86
Overall Course Rating Department: 4.72
Overall Rating of teaching MKOEN: 4.86
Overall Rating of teaching Department: 4.61
Comments:
“When I first looked into the abstract of this class my thought was it might be boring because it
has to deal with research, but with Professor Martin teaching it; it was quite fascinating. Taking a
summer class is not everyone’s favorite because it deals with a five days a week drive, but
Professor Martin worked out a schedule that fitted his student’s entire schedule which was great.
The pace of his lecture was great; it was not too fast or too slow. I wish he would teach other
level of Crim courses, I would definitely take him again. After hearing what he has to offer about
his knowledge of research methods or anything with crim courses, makes me more interested
than I was before.”
"The fact that the professor related the course material to real life situations and research enabled
me to understand the material better"
"The course was extremely organized and everything on the syllabus was covered. The instructor
was very easily accessible. PowerPoints were concise with important information rather than
dragged out. The instructor made references to his real-life example of his study very often
which helped me better understand the material."
“The class is very up to the point and covers the material well without making it boring. “
CRIM 315 Research Methods Spring 2015
Comments:
“Your syllabus is very straightforward, which keeps us on track regardless of snow days, etc. and
simple to understand, which does not take away from any of the difficulty of the course. As long

as we do the readings and understand the material, it is very achievable to get a good grade. I
think I prefer this format of a course to any other.”
"The Briefs that the professor had us do probably helped me the most. I was able to grasp an
understanding of the different methods used for research and explain how they work."
“I enjoy your passion for this class. Each day I am very excited to come to class and learn
because of your attitude. It takes professors like this to really help me succeed and have me truly
enjoy learning. Thank you.”
“I know research is a boring topic but you incorporate what you’re doing for your dissertation
and give examples which is extremely helpful, it helps put everything into context with what we
are learning and it makes it easier to understand.”
CRIM 100 Introduction to Criminal Justice Spring 2015
Comments:
“I absolutely love your charisma and your sense of humor makes class much more bearable. I
actually don't mind getting up early in the morning for this class because you make it so much
more interesting. I also enjoy being able to take the quizzes, surveys, and exams at my own
pace.”
“This is the best class I have taken at Mason. The only thing that I would change is some of the
wording on the quizzes and tests. Everything else about the class is enjoyable.”
“The way you relate and are passionate about the class and what we're talking about is refreshing
and really nice.”
“Great relaxed teaching style while still getting the information across, very nice for a intro level
class. I loved the way the grading was, all of the work allowed us to work at our own pace and
not overwhelm us. Overall it was great class and was very informative because I have never
taken a class about the justice system or criminology as a whole.”
“Listening to your lectures, they were incredible and all your stories just made this class
you wanted to go to instead of feeling, ‘Oh, I must go because attendance counts and that's it’.
But it's more than that. I think, even if you made attendance mandatory, people would not dislike
you because that would actually be a really pleasant experience, something people wouldn't
expect.”

" [I liked] having class discussions and watching videos about what we were learning."
"Plenty of discussion for each chapter. The surveys got me thinking."
"He is very relatable to the students and has a very organized, set way of doing class, which
makes it enjoyable."
CRIM 100 Introduction to Criminal Justice Fall 2014
Comments:
“I really learned a lot from you professor, and I like the way you incorporated examples from
your life to the lecture making it interesting and entertaining also. I wish there were more
professors like you in GMU or at every university.”
“This class is by far my favorite that I've taken at Mason. Having everything on Blackboard
really helps! I really enjoy the voice-over PowerPoints. I believe they are extremely helpful,
especially when I'm trying to study. I believe there should be more of those, even though it's
probably a hassle for you! Thanks for being a great professor! I'd definitely take another class
that you'd teach.”
“You are a major inspiration. Thank you for providing such an informative class.”
“This class had brought a great general idea of what the criminal justice system looks like in our
world today. Honestly, I somehow decided to choose this class with no particular good reason,
but this class has got me interested in the subject.”
Comments:

“Overall, I like that you have the class set up for us to succeed. By this I mean that as long as we
put in our time and effort to do the readings and take notes, as well as show up to class it seems
like we will do well on quizzes and exams.”
"The lectures were entertaining and constantly made references to real-life situations."
"I personally think you were a great professor. You made learning the material fun and easy. I
really enjoyed coming to your class! The way you teach is your way and it works great."
"He was very passionate about this field and about teaching the class. He involved the class in
discussions and asked out opinions, which made everyone form their own opinions."
"Prof. Koen was invested in the material and clearly knows a lot about it. He was able to relate
the material to real life better than any professor I have ever had."
“I think this class was great. Martin is passionate about his work, and passionate about
connecting with his students, not just teaching them. This class was a way to learn somewhat
boring information that we must know, but in a fun discussion atmosphere. Tangents are funny
and sometimes applicable, but they also show that Martin is just like us with his everyday stories
but also is successful in his job force, it’s a nice relaxing reminder that it’s ok to have fun and get
your work done.”
“I actually really enjoy how you incorporate info from your own dissertation to help us better
grasp the material!”
CRIM 210 Introduction to Criminology Spring 2014
Comments:
“I have to say, I just recently decided to become a criminology major and took a 220 class last
semester. My teacher was a lawyer, so he was tough on us and treated us like law students, so I
was pretty iffy. I liked it enough to where I am definitely sticking with my major, but this class
has blown me away! The way you teach and your attitude towards your students makes me feel
very welcome and I am actually excited to learn the material. We are all in college now and we
are adults, and I love how you actually treat us that way instead of how most professors still treat
us like high school students. Totally taking you for any other CRIM class that I can within the
rest of my classes!”

“I think that you're an entertaining professor and keep my interest in the class. Even though we
still have PowerPoints, it is not mundane. I enjoy that all the material is online and that your
class is comfortable. I can promise that Mason students would appreciate you keeping your
teaching methods because it’s a great change of pace to the other professors on campus.”
CRIM 210 Introduction to Criminology Fall 2013
Comments:
“You're probably the best professor I've ever had. You keep the class entertaining and make it
easy to pay attention in class.”
“Honestly, your class was the only class I looked forward to every week. I loved your side
comments and stories because they kept class interesting. Listening to boring professors all day
just stand up there and lecture monotonously is painful. Before this class I wasn’t sure about my
major but I think this was the class that is helped me decide which concentration to take on. “
Overall Course Rating MKOEN: 5
Overall Rating of teaching MKOEN: 5
Comments:
“One thing I love about this class so far is; he uses real life experiences to compare the lecture
notes. I’m a visual learner so for a professor to use real life experiences it helps make a topic
easier for me.”
“I love the way the class is structured. Its summer and I'm a commuter; it takes me more than an
hour to get to school by 9:30 so I really appreciate the scheduling and you being so flexible about
it. The PowerPoints outline the book really well and I think the quizzes/exams do a good job in
pointing out what's important so it sticks. The class is super organized on Blackboard which I
also appreciate.”

CRIM 315 Research Methods Spring 2013
Comments:
“Don't change anything about the class! I'm a senior and it's by far the best CRIM class I’ve
taken so far at Mason.”

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