An Engineer, But a Teacher First

by DocWillyJoe

I love being a teacher because teaching is my passion and it is exciting. The reason comes not only from the why, but also from the how, the what, and the whom of teaching. I was an accidental teacher. Having taken chemical engineering, I was preparing for employment in industry. Unfortunately, my medical condition (I was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect) did not allow for such plans. My first job was as a confidential technical assistant to the Chief of the Research and Development Center of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 1970. I worked on explosives and pyrotechnics. Operating with inadequate facilities and limited resources, I was able to complete my research projects by improvisation and by using practical methods. I noticed I was being creative and innovative. I felt an urge to impart such trait to others. (Isn’t that what teachers do?) I applied for a NSDB (National Science Development Board, now DOST) scholarship and was accepted. I enrolled at the University of the Philippines and pursued the masters course in chemical engineering. I was still studying when an instructor’s position became available at the UP Department of Chemical Engineering. The duties consisted of teaching, research, and extension work. The research part caught my interest. I applied and was chosen from among several applicants. I had to adjust to my new job and it was not long before that I liked everything that I did. I especially appreciated that the results of my research could be incorporated in my lectures and applied to my extension work and consultation. The variety of activities kept me busy and no dull moments came. Teaching was becoming a passion. I also kept honing my creativity. Imparting this trait to others was still at the back of my mind.
In 1980, I was sent to the US as a scholar to pursue a doctoral degree in chemical and biochemical engineering. The added knowledge transformed me to become more adept at technologies. Upon returning, I conducted researches that encompassed chemical engineering, biotechnology, environment, and energy. I received many awards and my desire to impart creativity to others became more fervent.

In 1988, I received a report from the National Research Council in the US that described the frontiers and the “paradigm” of chemical engineering. A paradigm refers to a model, theory, map, perception, etc. At about the same time I attended a seminar on “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. Covey used paradigms as examples. I became curious about the term “paradigm” and thought about its application to my teaching and other related activities. I started a personal research project based on such curiosity. Initially, I encountered difficulties because the subject matter is outside of my expertise, but I persisted. About ten years passed before a desirable result came out. It was about formulating teaching strategies. Developing teaching innovations and introducing new courses came next. Being an engineer, I applied the technique to designing new processes and devices. Finding the framework and basis of the technique took several more years. I called the project “Probing Paradigms for Generating Ideas.” Probing paradigms means we have to study, analyze, and explore them thoroughly. We can then find insights, perspectives, points of view, etc., which lead to many ideas. We systematically organize and map the ideas in our mind. We connect and relate these ideas to come up with new ideas. Our brain is a powerful neural network computer that is capable of performing such processing. With this technique, I am able to elucidate the how, the what, and the whom of my teaching activities.
The How. In developing my technique on probing paradigms, I concentrated my effort in formulating teaching strategies and developing innovations. This was also a way of preventing boredom to pervade my work. Teaching the first course in chemical engineering offers some challenges because of the transition of students from general education to engineering orientation. Scrutinizing and probing the paradigm of chemical engineering took care of this. Introducing innovations adds variety to the course and enhances the interests of students. I extended the techniques to graduate classes where students come from different disciplines; I was able to teach chemical engineering courses to non-chemical engineering students. In short, I was teaching differently and more effectively.
The What. Chemical engineering, because of the emphasis and inclusion of many chemistry subjects, becomes quite a fundamental field of study with diverse ideas and applications. I performed researches that concerned biotechnology (design of bioreactors and fermentation systems), the environment (design of waste and wastewater treatment systems), and energy engineering (design of energy systems). I integrated the results of my researches to my graduate and undergraduate subjects. With the technique I was working on, I was able to introduce new courses such as Health and Wellness Engineering and Waste Engineering. More importantly I am now able to teach courses on how to become creative and innovative, a desire I had four decades ago.
The Whom. I teach undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students. Each level requires a particular type of attention and detail. But in some cases, I offer subjects where the three groups are mixed and good interaction pervades. My extension work led me teach the other types of “students”. I conduct continuing education courses for engineering instructors, engineers, and other professionals. I give lectures on the environment to the LGU’s. As a consultant to some companies, I “teach” managers and executives.
My experiences have provided me the opportunity to teach various types of people and I like it. On October 17, 2010, I delivered a paper, “Developing a Continuing Education Seminar for Engineering Educators” at the 12th World Conference on Continuing Engineering Education held in Singapore. Come to think of it, I taught a group of international teachers. Isn’t that awesome? Yes, I really love being a teacher!